Hero
by natasha94585
Summary: When Bella is recued after being attacked she takes interest in the man who saved her. What happens when she finds out that her hero is acually homeless, with a past out to get him? Can she be his hero and save him from the past? Rated M... Just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone this is Tasha speaking. I just want to announce that this story is not only written by me but by my boyfriend Macauley as well. So this is a story we're writing together. Here's chapter 1 of Hero, hope you like it. ^_^**

**Chapter 1**

**BPOV**

I walk to the bus stop after my therapy session. I had a good session today. We talked about my parents a little. Mike, my therapist, always praises me when I talk about my parents, since I usually stray from that topic. I sigh and stand as the bus pulls up.

I take my seat and look out the window at the passing by buildings, while listening to my Ipod. The sun is mostly set, only a pink-orange line is lighting the city, giving everything a misty, dream-like state. I smile at the vanishing light. Sometimes I'm glad I get to admire and appreciate the things nature gives us. Trees, forests, sunsets. Its all beautiful.

When the bus finally gets to my stop it's dark outside. I step off and walk towards the entrance of the cemetery. My mom used to tell me never to walk through a cemetery at night. That was when I was about seven and we lived in a nice neighborhood. When it

was the three of us.

*Flashback*

I walked into the living room, where my mom was watching a scary movie on the couch. She smiles at me as I approach the couch and pats the seat next to her. I accept the invitation and snuggle up to her. On the screen a girl is running through a cemetery. I tug on my moms shirt.

"Why is she running?"

"Because that man is chasing her," she explains, rubbing soothing circles on my arm.

"In a cemetery?" I ask confused.

"Yes," she says.

I watch the screen, looking at the stones the girl is laying next to.

"Can I go to the cemetery?" I ask.

"Sure, when your older," she reasons. "But never go through the cemetery at night, ok?"

"Why?"

She looks at me with a sly smile on her face. "Because you never know what kind of weirdo's are out there, looking for pretty girls to eat!" she said tackling me and tickling my sides. I howled with laughter.

*End Flashback*

I try to swallow the lump that's formed in my throat, the tightness that indicates that I want to cry. That was a long time ago. My twenty first birthday is coming in a week and its been 10 years since she and my dad died. I live with uncle Carlisle now.

The wind picks up and I hug my jacket closer to me. The streets are strangely empty tonight. No one out for an evening walk or walking their dog. I check my phone, 7:56 pm. There's usually someone out, and there aren't even any cars passing by. The terrible silence makes me shiver and puts me on edge. I jump at the slight noise the wind makes.

I make it to the middle of the pathway, where there's somewhat of an intersection, when I'm startled by laughter coming ahead of me. A group of maybe eight are standing under one of the three tall beams that try to light the graveyard. I take a couple steps back, hoping the lack of light disguises me.

I must of made a noise because one of the members turns their head towards me, then taps another guy, pointing me out. My heart starts to pound and I weigh my options. I turn right down a different pathway that lead to another exit. The group separates and two men begin to walk down the path while the others turn back.

I quicken my steps and pray that they don't follow me. My heart is beating so hard that my chest is throbbing and I can hear the light thuds of their footsteps. _"Run"_ a distant voice calls. I jump in surprise at the nearness of the voice, but take the advice and take off in a sprint. Laughter trails behind me and the thuds sound heavier.

A sob escapes me and I push myself to go further, willing my legs to go faster. I make it to the exit and continue to run into the maze of houses. I can still hear them behind me, not too close, calling me out. _Why are they still after me? _

I reach the end of the maze and enter a long street of closed shops. My breathing is ragged and harsh, my lungs feel like they might collapse. I stop and look around for a place to hide. I see an ally-way and make my way to it. Right when I reach the entrance I feel two arms yank me backwards and I fall into the street.

"You run fast, sweetheart, but not fast enough," the man says yanking me up and pulling me close to him. I can smell the alcohol on his breath and I struggle to get free from his grasp, but he's to strong.

He holds my arms down to my sides and starts to trail kisses down my neck before another voice interrupts him. I struggle again.

"What happened to sharing?" a tall, skinny man asks.

The man holding me laughs, "get your own, Tyler."

"Don't be a dick, Ray," the tall man growls.

'_Ray'_ snorts and throws me the man, causing me to fall and scrape my leg. Tyler picks me up and holds me down the same way Ray did. He yanks my arms puling me closer. I yelp in pain and try to pull away, which makes him grab tighter. He shakes me to face him and then he forces his lips on mine. I protest and push to fight him off.

"Get off of me you pig!" I shout once he finally pulls away, and knee him in the groin. He shouts out in pain and bends over, grabbing himself.

"You stupid bitch!" he yells and then punches me in the face.

I fall to the ground, holding my face in my hand and crying in pain. Ray climbs on top of me and tries to undo my pants, but I'm squirming to much. He growls in frustration and begins to punch me. I scream and yell at him till Tyler covers my mouth. Ray continues to punch me and I slowly feel myself slipping into darkness. I can smell and feel the blood surrounding me.

**EPOV**

I leaned back against the tree. The cemetery isn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but it will work for tonight. I sigh and close my eyes, trying to imagine some place warm to hide the fact that it was cold. I try to remember happier time, better times. Times when I had a bed to sleep in and food in my belly.

I sigh and open my eyes. Sleep was not coming easily tonight. Some loud laughter erupted through the air, and my head turns to the location of the noise. There's a large group of people standing under one of the lamp posts. They continue to laugh until one of the members looks down the path, and points out something to the group. After a moment the group separates and most of the members turn to the exit while two men head further into the cemetery.

Its then that I notice her. A girl, walking hurriedly down the path to one of the exits. Her long, dark hair swaying as she speed walks. Her face is a mixture of fear and frustration. The two men quicken there step and get closer to the girl. I stand as I watch the scene before me.

"RUN!" I shout to the girl.

She jumps at the sound of my voice, but takes off in a sprint. The two men laugh and run after her. She makes it to the exit and my mind debates on what to do, should I help or not. I run my hands through my hair and sigh as I jog down the slight hill to the exit.

I can see them just as they enter the long row of houses. I sprint trying to catch up to them, but get lost in the maze of houses.

"Fuck," I say to myself.

I continue to run through the houses trying to figure out which direction they went. I reach the end of the maze where a long strip of shops are closed. I see them, just in time to catch one of the men hit her in the face, a her fall to the ground. The other man climbs on top of her, I see her struggle. I glare and start running to where they stand. The man on top of her begins to punch her while the other hold his hand over her mouth.

"Get off of her," I say calmly. The punching stops and the man on top of her stands.

"Who the fuck are you?" he says.

"That is of little importance," I reply, irritated.

I see the girl try to open her eyes to see what's going on, but gives up. One man moves towards me, while the other lifts the girl. She falls limp, but the man holds her up and drags her to a where me and the other man are standing.

"Who is she to you? Your pretty little girlfriend?" one of the men teases, dragging his hand over her body. She lets out a small whimper.

"If you touch her again, I'll kill you," I announce.

In response they laugh. The man runs his hand down her breast. I moved quickly bringing my arm back and swing at the man with full force. He falls to the ground, out cold. I turn to the other man.

"I'm going to tell you one more time. Let her go." I growl.

He barks out in laughter. "No."

I stalks towards them grabbing him by the throat. He tightens his grip around her throat and she gags at the loss of oxygen.

"Let her go, and I won't hurt you badly," I lie.

He seem to think this over, after a moment I hear him smirk. "Fine." He says and then throws the girl to the ground. Her head connects with the pavement with a loud crack sound.

She lets out a loud groan. I let out a low growl and punch him in the same fashion as the other man, only this time continuing to punch him until he goes limp and blood starts to form large stains on his clothes and the pavement. I walk over to the girl and lift her into my arms.

"Miss, can you hear me?" I ask.

She turns her head towards me but doesn't say anything. I can tell that she's beautiful, even with her face all cut and bloody. She looks extremely familiar. She moves her lips.

"Thank you," she whispers, so quietly I almost miss it.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you to the hospital," I say to her, before lifting her and walking in the direction of a pay phone.

**Soooo? What do you think? This first chapter is just me writing, but from here on out I'm going to be writing every other chapter in Bella's POV while Macauley writes Edward's POV. So next chapter will be Macauley writing. **

**Leave a comment and tell me what you think of this first chapter. I love hearing you opinions.**

**TTFN; Tah tah for now **

**Tasha ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, this is Macauley. This is my first time ever writing a story on Fanfiction. So I hope you enjoy it. Here's Chapter 2 of Hero.**

**Chapter 2**

**EPOV**

I make my way down the street remembering that there's a payphone about a block away from where those men attacked her. I realized that the streets were deserted, leaving me with a chill and this pretty hot looking girl in my arms. Looking at her makes my heart thud fast, reminding me of the only person I've felt like that for… Tanya…

I used to think we were the perfect couple till I realized she was playing me for a fool. She used to tell me: "Always look out to be number one, there's no place greater." I never understood what she meant. Then I came to realize that she was only after power and money, using me to make herself look good. Then she kicked me out, sending someone to deliver the divorce papers. I was ok for a little while, using what savings I had, but after the ran out…

I couldn't control the anger that flowed through me. I shook my head, trying to clear the thought from my mind. Bringing myself back to the situation before me. I stare down at the girl in my arms. She had several cuts on her face and her eye was already starting to swell, I could feel blood in the back of her head. I need to get to a phone quickly.

I reach a payphone vandalized with graffiti. I look around for a decent place the set her down. I decide to set her in the doorway of an antique store, the doorway being cleaner then the others. She let out a groan as soon as here body made contact with the floor. I grind my teeth, not meaning to have hurt her.

Shivering from the cold, I make my way to payphone. I step into the booth picking up the phone, only to put it back down after realizing I needed money to operate it.

"Fuck," I grumble, putting my hand in my pockets, looking for some sort of change. I pull out nothing but lint and a couple of pennies.

"Perfect," I mumble frustrated and embarrassed. _I cant even pay to use the payphone_, I think to myself.

I get out of the booth, looking around the street for spare change. My eyes rest on the bruised, banged-up girl I rescued from those assholes. I clench my fist not wanting to think about what would have happened if I wasn't there to save her. I kneel down next to her reaching for her pants. Hesitant, I stop looking up to make sure no one was walking around, before reaching inside her pockets for change.

I search through her right pocket and then, after finding nothing, reach over to check her left pocket. Suddenly a bright light shines on us and I recognize the red and blue flashing lights of a police car.

"Freeze! Put your hands where we can see them!" a man shouts, stepping out of the car. "Move away from the girl!"

_Shit, shit, shit,_ I think as I step away from the girl with my hands in the air. A second cop walks over to the girl and puts his fingers to her neck, I assume, checking for a pulse.

"She's alive," he says to cop number one.

"I saved her from these two men who where trying to¾ " I start but cop number one interrupts me.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. If you are not a United States citizen, you may contact your country's consulate prior to any questioning. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" he says, reading me my Miranda rights as he cuffs me.

"Yes," I say in a small voice. I hear cop number two on his walkie-talkie calling for an ambulance.

"Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?" he continues

"Yes," I say in an equally small voice.

The cop takes out a notepad and a pen and motions for me to begin. I tell him about being in the cemetery when I saw a large group of people, seeing the girl and the two men that chased her. I continued to tell him about how I went after them and saved her from being raped. He wrote down everything I said.

"And why where you over her body when we arrived?" he asks.

"I was looking for change to call 911," I reply.

"Your aware the there's no charge when calling 911," he states. I shake my head no, he looks at me skeptically. "Are there any witnesses that can speak on your behalf?"

"Only the girl," I state._ Damn this is not good._

"Well, we'll have to take you to the station, until she is conscious and can testify for you," he announces.

I close my eyes as cop number one slides me in the back seat of the cruiser. Is this what I get for being a good civilian? After a few minutes I can hear the ambulance siren as they approach, and then some yelling as the rush to get the girl on the stretcher. I stayed in the back seat for what seems like forever until, finally, the two cops got into the car and we start towards the station.

The ride there was quiet. I didn't speak due to fear of being changed for bad mouthing a cop, or something. When we pull up to the station cop number two gets out and takes me out of the car roughly, dragging me into the station. He paused to say hello to the women at the front desk, before dragging me down a long hall. We passed by many offices before we reached the door at the end of the hall. He opened the door to reveal a large room with three large holding cells, and another officer sitting with his feet on a desk.

"I got one for you, Chuck," the cop says to the man at the desk.

"Just put him in cell three," he says

Cop number two walked over and opened the cell after 'Chuck' gave him the keys. He sits me down on the bench and un-cuffs me. I rub my wrists and he continues to stand there. I look up at him

"You'll either have to wait in this holding cell until Monday when we can get you an attorney or until someone bails you out. Someone will be here tomorrow to confirm you statement," he explains. I just nodded, and lean back against the wall.

What have I done to deserve this? I cant regret saving that girls life. She looked so fragile, helpless. She didn't deserve what those men did to her. I sighed and put my face in my hands. What was I going to do? Having my head down staring at the floor which seemed like for hours. Suddenly I hear tapping against the cell. I look up and see a cop smiling at me.

"Am I disturbing anything?" He says.

"No…. " I say miserably.

The officer brings his hand to his side revealing a small silver key. He starts to put the key in the key hole of the cell. Then he hesitates not turning it and lets go of the key leaving it in the keyhole. He looks up and says to me

"Can I trust you?"

"Yes.. Yes sir.. Of course" I said. Maybe he'll let me out? I thought. Smiling happily just the thought of getting out of the cell. Being in here makes me feel like a bad guy. A criminal. I didn't do anything wrong. I am a nice guy. Reading my mind. The cop gives me a sad look and says

"Sorry man…. I cant let you go… But I can give you THIS!" he says opening the cell and giving me a blanket and a big soft pillow.

I stretch out my arms up reaching for the stuff and then I make eye contact with him. I couldn't help but smile and let out a chuckle. He was standing in front of me straight up and his arms out to me and his face… Ha-ha. His faced was lit up showing me a smile that shows all his big white teeth. Why is he being so nice? He relaxed his shoulders and his smile disappeared. He looked at me with a confused look and said

"You don't want them? and why are you laughing? Do I got something in my teeth?" He sets the pillow down by my feet and starts scratching his teeth with his free index finger. Coming back into reality. I snapped into attention, shaking my head.

"Oh no! I would like them very much. Uhh… thank you," I said sounding pretty stupid.

He gives me another smile and says

"How did you end up in here? You don't seem like a bad guy. And I'm a good people reader." His brow went up, his eyes looking at me up and down.

"well…." I began. But hesitated. Thinking of what to say to him? I was being stupid for reaching into a beat up victims pants pocket? Or tell him I was so poor that I couldn't afford the pay phone? Even worst. Finding out later that the payphone is free for calling 911? I haven't used any electric devices in quite awhile.

"Lets just say I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and became involved in the situation" I decided to tell him. So he doesn't know my foolishness I was embarrassed to share with him. _Some hero_, I thought.

"NO kiddin? I'm always at the wrong time and at the wrong place myself too!" he begins blabbering about his accident with his boss. I sigh and begin to stare into space. This guys is such a chatter. Ugh why cant a bug just fly into his mouth already? I'm surprised he hasn't choked on his tongue.

"ROOOKIE! What in the BLAZES are you doing TALKING? WHEN YOU SHOULD BE GETTING MY FILES I TOLD YOU TO BRING ME?" A fat cop comes right behind the startled cop.

Man… is it really that necessary to be yelling at someone that is 5ft away from you? Well… on the bright side at least he shut him up. He was starting to be annoying. Its not him. Its just his voice. He's one of those people that you just cant stand talking. Just the words that come out of their mouths are like scratching a chalk board or something. I lie down closing my eyes finally being able to hear my thoughts and relax in peace.

"Sa… Sorry chief, I was just getting my friend something for the cold night" He looks at me giving me a wink as soon as he says "friend". I roll my eyes when neither of them were watching.

"You know this guy?" the chief said curiously at the rookie.

"Of course, me and uhhh…" he looks at me for guidance. Then turns his glimpse at the chief and says

"Robby go way back" he looks with a smile finding a name to call me. I slap my forehead. Robby? that's an ugly name. I don't look like a Robert.

"Get back to work son, IMMEDITATELY" the chief said making sure he made himself clear to the over happy officer.

"yes sir" he says. The chief leaves giving me a quick glance before he passes out of my view.

" I better get going, the chief has some anger management issues. I hope the blanket keeps you warm. Hear its gonna be 65 degrees tonight". He whispered to me

"Thank you" I say as soon as he leaves. As I'm about to close my eyes realizing on how tired I was. Just remembered that I was interrupt in my sleep by the commotion the guys were making right about to have some fun with the poor girl.

"HEY!" the rookie says as soon as he pops his head out in front of the cell.

"AHHH!" I let out and fell out of the made up bed I made into floor with banged.

Owwww… I said to myself rubbing my shoulder and squinting at the rookie.

"Yes… ?" I said lifting myself up and gave my head a scratch before I sat down.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. But I didn't quite catch your name? Or is it Robert?" Ugh… there he goes again with Robert… I hate that name for some reason.

"No. No it is not. Its Edward. Let me guess. Your name isn't Rookie is it?

"Of course not!" He said with his eyes getting all big all of a sudden. Oh my god I thought. You got to be kidding me.

"The name is Anthony. Anthony Jack_**son**_, I like the "son" in the end of my name" he says with a smile. That's perfect I thought. Just perfect. Not only is he annoying but he's a little firecracker.

"That's nic-…" I began to say.

"Got to go! See you around!" He darts away. Uhhh? He left me with a puzzled look. He didn't even let me finish what I was going to say. He is a fire cracker. Well, his gone. That's all that matters. Smiling at the thought I lied back down and closed my eyes, falling quickly to sleep.

**A/N: Well did you enjoy my chapter? I'm not good at writing, plus this is my 1****st**** story ever. Well… its mine and Natasha's but… just saying in general. Leave some reviews.**

**Thank you =)**

**Macauley**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey everyone, its Tasha again. I just want to say thank you to the people who put us in their favorites and alerts, and thanks so much for the reviews! **

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**Chapter 3**

I cant tell where I am. I try to open my eyes but my lids are heavy, so I key into my other senses. There's a strange smell in the air, kind of a stale cleanness. My whole body feels numb, I try moving my fingers.

"Doc, I think she's waking up," a woman's voice says

"Bella? Can you hear me?" a familiar voice asks.

"Carlisle?" I try to speak his name. My voice is a hoarse whisper. I open my eyes slightly. "Where am I?"

"The hospital. How are you feeling?" he asks, his face full of concern.

I try to lift my head, but it throbs in pain. I groan. "My head is throbbing, but other then that I'm kind of numb," I say.

"Well you hit your head pretty bad, so we had to stitch it," he explained. "You also had a few cuts that needed stitches as well and you have multiple bruises all over your body."

I nod and try to clear my throat. "Can I have some water?"

Carlisle nods and leaves the room and comes back quickly with a bottle of water. I lift myself up, flinching at the soreness of my body. I chugged the water greedily. It was then that two police men walk into the room.

"Bella, officer Browning and officer Carter would like to ask you a couple questions about the attack," Carlisle announces, motioning to either man. Its then that the events flood back to me. The cemetery, the two men, my savior…

"There was a man, he saved my life…" I trail off. "Where is he?"

"We only found one man near you when we arrived and he was taken to the station," officer Carter replies.

I frown. What if they arrested the man who saved me. I would need to get him out of jail. I sighed and nodded at the officers and they began asking me questions, while Carlisle took some tests. I told them all that I could about the two men who attacked me. They wrote down what they needed and told me that they have my phone and Ipod at the station and I could pick it up when I get out of the hospital. They also told me the name of the man that they arrested and said he could be let go as soon as he made bail, before they left. I nodded. I would have to get him out of there. Its not fair that he's there when he's done nothing wrong.

I turn to Carlisle once they were gone. "When can I go home?"

"Ummm… we'll need to send in these tests, but maybe tomorrow," he says, then smiles. He knows how much I hate hospitals. "But don't worry about that now, you need to rest."

I nod and give him a small smile. I lay back against the pillow and close my eyes, thinking of the night before. About the man who saved me. I can't picture his face clearly, but I do remember his voice. Although it was coated with concern it was velvety, musical. I can hear it perfectly in my mind. I drifted to sleep, his voice carrying me.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of the heart monitor beeping. I open my eyes to see the nurse writing things down on her clipboard. She looks at me and smiles.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Good morning," I say with a smile, stretching my arms over my head, but quickly putting them down and flinch at the dull pain.

"Are you sore? I cant give you some pain killers," she say and I nod a thank you. She walks out the door. I lean back and close my eyes.

"Bella!" I hear after a minute.

"Alice!" I smile as she walks in the room and gives me a hug. Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett follow soon after and I give them all hugs, ignoring the slight pain.

"How are you?" Alice asks.

"You look like crap," Emmett blurts out. Rosalie smacks him in the back of the head.

"Gee, thanks," I say sarcastically before laughing. "I'm fine, Alice."

"Carlisle told use what happened," Rosalie said with a sad look. Alice's smile turned into a frown, while the boys look ready to kill someone.

"I'm fine," I say. "Really."

They all nodded but didn't look convinced. We were all quiet for what seemed like an eternity. I try to think of something to say.

"Well, I bet Carlisle didn't tell you about the man who saved me," I offered. A small smile spreads on Alice's face.

"No, he conveniently left that part out," she says.

"I don't think he knows," I say in Carlisle's defense.

"Who is he?" Jasper asks.

"I don't know," I frown. "I couldn't really see his face."

"Well, where is he?" Rose asks.

I told them about what the cops said about the man that they had found near me, and told them that I thought it was him.

"That's terrible," Alice says. I nod. It gets quiet again.

"I have good news," Alice sings, breaking the silence. "You get to go home today!"

"Thank god!" I say with a big smile.

The nurse finally came back and gave me some pain killers, before telling me I was free to go and that Carlisle had signed my papers. She unhooked me from the machine and I tried to stand. My legs felt like jelly and I need help walking, but after a while I got the hang of it again and could walk by myself, slowly. We made it to Emmett's jeep and jasper helps me into the back seat.

"Emmett? Can you take me to the police stationer after I shower?" I asked. "I need to pick up some stuff."

He nodded and we head to the house. I quickly jump in the shower and let the hot water run over my sore body as I wash my hair, letting the strawberry sent fill the steamy air around me. I step out and dry myself off before heading to my room to find some clothes. After I dress I go back to the bathroom to blow dry my hair.

I gasp as I look at myself in the mirror. I have cuts covering my face. One over my eyebrow, one on my cheekbone, and one on my chin. I have a black eye, and a busted lip. Emmett was right. I do look like crap. I sigh and blow dry my hair before takining some cover up to hide the black eye. Its no use, you can still tell I have a black eye under the makeup. I sigh, going downstairs to get Emmett.

As we head to the station and I start feeling nervous about meeting the man who saved me. What was I going to say to him? I bit my lip as we pull up to the station. Emmett waits in the car. When I walk through the door I see officer Carter behind the long counter talking to a woman with a headset.

"Good afternoon," I say to him.

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan," he says. "Are you here to get your things?"

I nod and he left and came back with a baggy containing my phone and Ipod. I smile and take my belongings from him. He returns the smile and turns around to walk away when I call him back.

"Wait!" I say. "Ummm… can I see him?"

He looks confused for a moment but then nods and tells me to follow him to the back. I follow quietly staying close to the wall of the hall. We reach a door and he opens it to reveal a large room with three barred cells, and a desk with an officer sitting there.

I can see him now. He didn't look up at the sound of our entrance. I look over him. He's wearing blue jeans with a black tee-shirt. The bottom of his jeans are dirty. He has crazy, messy bronze hair. And he's looking down at the ground of the cell.

"Mason. You have a visitor," Officer Carter announces while opening the door to the cell.

I step in and he looks up. His deep emerald eyes boring into mine. He stares at me in surprise. I stare at him, memorized. He's gorgeous; easily the most beautiful man I've ever seen. I sit on the bench next to him.

"Edward Mason?" I ask.

"Yes," his musical voice rings through the cell. I recognized his beautiful voice immediately.

"You're the man that saved me," I smile at him. He just stares at me, and I frown. For a moment I wonder if I could have mistaken him for someone else, but I recognize his voice.

"You recognize me," he says quietly, looking in his lap, snapping me out of my thoughts. I smile again.

"Well actually I recognize your voice," I say shyly.

"My voice?" he asks, looking slightly confused.

"Ya," I say. "I couldn't really picture your face. I guess maybe my eyes were swollen or covered with blood or something."

"Oh," he said, looking up at me. I couldn't help myself, I leaned over and hugged him. He was in shock at first but after a few seconds he hugged me back.

"Thank you," I say softly. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

I pull away and smile before standing. I walk over to the entrance of the cell and looked toward the desk where officer Carter was speaking to another cop. I clear my throat.

"Officer Carter? Can I talk to you?" I call. He nods and walks over to where I'm standing. "Why is he in here?"

"When we found you he was standing over your body," he explained. "He claims to have been looking for change to use the payphone, but until you were conscious and able to come down to the station to provide a statement claiming his story to be true we had to hold him here."

"There's obviously been a misunderstanding," I say. "This man saved my life. I gave you the descriptions of the men who attacked me."

"I see," he nodes. "Well, Mason I guess your free to go. Miss Swan, we'll call you as soon as we catch the two men who assaulted you, so you can come to the station and make sure."

"Thank you," I say, then look to Edward and smile.

He smiles back and stands, coming to stand next to me. We walked out of the station together and once I reach Emmett's truck I stop to look at Edward. He looks awkward, I giggle softly.

"Thank you," he says

"No, thank you. Again," I say. We stand there awkwardly for about a minute.

"I think I should go," he announces.

"Oh, ya, of course," I say quickly feeling kind of slow. He nods to me and turns to walk away. "Wait! I was thinking… would you like to come to my house for dinner?"

He turns to me. "For dinner?"

"Ya," I give him a small smile. "I don't think Esme would mind, she loves guests. And I'm sure everyone would love to meet the man who saved my life."

He seemed to consider my offer and then he frowned slightly. "I cant, I… I have to see someone."

It was my turn to frown. _He probably has a girlfriend_, I think. "Oh… sure. Of course. Maybe some other time," I say, trying to give him a smile.

"Sure," he says, nodding. "I'd like that."

I smile hopefully, not understanding the sudden need to see him again. "Hold on," I say, as I turn around and open the car door.

I grab a pen and the closest piece of paper I could find, before turning back to Edward. I walk over to him and write down my number on the piece of paper. I hand it to him.

"Here's my cell number," I say. "You can call me, or I can call you?"

"Oh… , I don't own a cell phone," he says, looking to the ground with a sad look on his face. I feel a pinch in my heart, feeling bad for causing that look.

"No problem, you can just call me," I say hoping to comfort him somehow.

"Ok," he says.

"I'd really like to see you again," I say quietly, but realize I sound a little desperate, and quickly cover by saying; "I'd like to show you my gratitude."

"Bella!" Emmett booms from the jeep. I look back to see him giving me a '_who the hell is that_' look. I just shake my head and look back to Edward.

"You should go, your boyfriend is waiting for you," he says, a strange look crossing his face.

I laugh. "Oh, I don't have a boyfriend. That's my brother," I explain.

"Oh," he replies, the look disappearing.

"Ya," I say. "But your right, I should go."

"Of course," he agrees, then after a moment. "I'll call you."

"Great," I say with a big smile. "I'll see you later."

"Ya, bye," he smiles and turns, walking away.

I walk back to the car and jump into the passengers seat, leaning back with a huge smile on my face. Then I look at Emmett, he's staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Who the hell was that?" he asks.

"Edward?" I reply then smile. "He's just… a friend."

Emmett gives me a funny look, "Okay," he drags out the word.

I just shake my head and look forward. He shrugs and starts the car, heading for home. I cant wait to tell Alice about meeting Edward. My hero. I couldn't control the huge smile on my face.

* * *

**Hey again. I wrote part of this chapter while Macauley was still writing chapter two, so that's why I was able to post so quickly. I hope my chapter was up to all of your expectation. Please Comment and Review, your opinions are greatly appreciated. And let us know if you have and ideas you'd like us to put in the story.**

**Tasha ^_^ **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! This is Tasha, and I know you all were expecting Macauley to write this chapter in Edwards POV, but I wanted to have the chapter up soon and he had a little bit writers block. So we decided that I would write chapter 4 and he would write chapter 5, so chapter 5 will be in Edwards POV. Here's Chapter 4 of Hero, hope you enjoy it. **

**Chapter 4**

**Bella's POV**

I sat around the house the rest of the day yesterday after meeting Edward. I hoped he might call, but I figured he wouldn't considering that I just met him that day. I couldn't understand this urge to hear from him. To see him again. I moped around the house when he didn't call the next day. Everyone asked me what was wrong, but I told them it was nothing. I went to bed early, hoping that Edward would call tomorrow.

I woke up to bright light shining into my room. I groan and pull the covers over my face. I hear the door open and the feel someone sit on the bed. I pull the covers down to see Esme with a smile on her face, but she gasps as soon as she sees my face

"Oh, Bella, honey," she frowns.

"I'm fine," I assure her. She wasn't here when I got home yesterday. Rose told me that she was out of town and would be back tomorrow.

She sighs and then nods. "I made breakfast, your favorite."

I smile. "You didn't have to."

"I know but since you've had a rough couple of days I figure it's the least I can do," she says with a small smile.

"Ok, I'll be down in a minute," I say stretching my arms over my head. I'm surprised to find that I'm not as sore as yesterday.

Esme leaves and I get up and use the bathroom before going downstairs. Everyone is sitting at the table already with plates. I make a plate and take a seat next to Emmett.

"Good morning," I say. Everyone says their good morning and continue eating.

Once breakfast is done I help Esme with dishes, before heading upstairs to read. I couldn't stop thinking about Edward. His eyes, his hair, his smile, his voice. I could hardly focus on my book. Around 12:20 I heard my phones ringtone and rushed to answer it. I searched my room quickly, not finding anything. Suddenly the ringing stopped.

"Shit," I say. What if that was Edward.

I rush down the stairs and into the living room. Rose is sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

"Rose, have you seen my phone?" I ask.

"Ya, it was ringing, so Emmett answered it. He's in the kitchen," she says not looking up from her magazine.

I rush into the kitchen and see Emmett on my phone with a smile on his face. He changes his voice as he speaks. I walk over and reach for the phone, he tip-toes and lifts his head out of reach.

"Naw, this is Emmett who's this?" he says in a deep voice. I hear a soft reply, then Emmett looks to me with a knowing look.

"Well, Edward, I don't appreciate you tryin to talk to my woman," he says. I reach for the phone again excitedly, Emmett laughs.

"EMMETT!" I shout. He laughs again and hand me the phone. I put it to my ear quickly. "Edward? Hello, Edward?" Its quiet and I frown, assuming he hung up. _Thanks, Emmett,_ I huff_. _Then I hear his voice.

"Bella?" he asks in a hesitant voice.

"Yes, it's me," I assure him. "I'm sorry, my brother was just being an Idiot," I glare in the direction Emmett left.

"Oh, that's ok," he says with a nervous chuckle. Its quiet for a few seconds. "So… umm… how are you?"

"Good," I say with a smile. "How are you?"

"Good," he says. Its quiet again.

"Do you… do you wanna do something with me today?" I ask, to break the silence.

"I'd love that," ha says, I can hear the smile in his voice. "How about we meet at the park?"

"Great," I agree. "It's 12:30 now. How bout I meet you in a half hour?"

"Ok," he agreed.

"Great, see you then," I say and wait till he says bye before hanging up. I turn quickly and start running to my room, but trip.

I get up and run up the stairs, finally reaching my room. I run to the bathroom and take a quick shower. When I get out, I wrap the towel around my body and go to my closet and start searching threw what I have. Alice come in my room and gives me a funny look. I ignore her and pull out a white sun dress.

"Where are _you _going?" She asks, eyeing the dress.

"Just to the park," I say. "Too much?" I motion to the dress.

"Why are you going to the park?" she asks, as I put the dress back and pull out some dark jeans and a flowy shirt. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out by yourself."

"I wont be by myself," I say. "I'm meeting a…friend."

"Ooo, a friend," she said wiggling her eyebrows. I roll my eyes and go into the bathroom to change. I come out and look at myself in the full length mirror.

"How do I look?" I ask, turning to Alice.

"Who's your friend?" she asks, ignoring my question.

"I'm going to meet Edward ok?" I say, exasperated. I look at the clock, 12:48.

"Edward? Wait, the guy who saved you?" she says with a big smile on her face.

"Yes, ok?" I say. "So how do I look?" I ask again.

"Not bad," she says looking me over, then she frowns. "Your eye…"

I had forgotten about my black eye. "Oh," is all I say.

"Come with me," she says standing up.

I follow her to her room and she motions for me to sit at the vanity table. I sit in the soft chair and wait as she looks through her makeup products until she finds what she wants. Cover up.

"Alice, I tried that already," I say.

"Not _my _cover up, its special," she explains. I shrug my shoulders and she begins to apply it to my eye. I look in the mirror once she's done. My bruised eye is still slightly darker then the other but other then that it wasn't as noticeable.

"Thanks, Alice," I say. She gives me a smug smile and hurries me down the stairs.

"Emmett, drive Bella to the park," she calls. Emmett stands and grabs his keys.

"Sure," he says. "Why?"

"She's meeting someone," Alice says with a sly smile.

"Ooo, it _Edward_," he says making a kissy-face as he says Edward's name.

"How does he know?" Alice says with a disappointed look on her face.

"Emmett was there at the station, remember?" I explain. "And he answered the phone when Edward called," I say glaring at him. He laughs.

"Alright lets go," he says walking out the door. I grab my purse and Alice hands me my phone as I walk out the door.

We get in Emmett's jeep and her starts toward the park. He looks at me as he's driving.

"You look nice," he complements. "You eye looks much better today."

"Thank you," I blush. "Alice put some cover up on it," I explain

He nods and we reach the park. I thank him for the ride and jump out of the car. I watch him drive away before going to sit at the bench near the playground. I look around and don't see Edward anywhere. There's a few parents watching their kids play at the park. After a few minutes I check my phone, 1:10. Was I late? I sit and contemplate the possibility that he could have left because I was late. I wasn't that late, was I? just then I hear someone clear their throat. I look up to see Edward and smile.

"I was beginning to wonder if you where coming, or whether I was to late and you left," I give a small laugh.

He chuckles and my heart speeds up at the sound. He sit next to me. "Sorry I was late, I had to… walk here."

"No problem," I say.

"You look very nice," he complements. I blush and look down. He's dressed so casual, I feel over dressed.

"Thank you," I say. He stares at me for a long moment. "What?" I ask, self consciously.

"Your eye…" he says, reaching to touch my eye. I close my eyes and let the heat of his touch rush through me as he lightly brushes his finger against the covered up bruise. "I'm sorry I was late."

"You already apologized for that," I remind him. He drops his hand and I open my eyes, trying to clear my head.

"I meant that night," he said softly.

"Don't you dare apologize. I owe you my life," I say, shaking my head. "I was lucky you came at all."

He sighed and I tried to think of a way to make him feel better. "Lets talk about less depressing things, ok? How bout a game of twenty questions?" I ask

"Alright," he gave me a small smile and seemed to relax a little.

"Alright, you first," I say with a smile. I seem to smile a lot around him.

"Favorite color?" he asks.

"Green," I say with a slight blush, looking at his gorgeous emeralds. He gives me a crooked smile and my heart speeds up again. "Umm… same question."

"Brown," he smiles at me and I blush again. "Do you want to walk?"

"Sure," I say. "And that doesn't count as a question."

He laughs and we start walking down the path around the huge park.

"How many siblings do you have?" he asks.

"Technically, none," I say. He gives me a confused look. "One question at a time." I playfully scold him. "Do you play any instruments?"

"I used to play piano," he replies.

"Used to?" I question.

"One question at a time," he mocks. I laugh and nod. "What did you mean, technically?"

"Well, my parent died in a car accident, and I didn't have any brothers or sisters," I explain. "When my parents died my Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme claimed custody over me, and they have four adopted children. So its like they are my siblings."

"I'm sorry about your parents," he says.

"Thanks," I say. We're quiet for a moment. "That boy you saw the other day, the one you thought was my boyfriend, he's one of their adopted children. He's also the one who answered the phone today." I explain with a blush.

He chuckles and nods. "Oh. I was afraid, when he answered the phone, that you gave me the wrong number."

"I'm sorry about him, he likes to joke," I say. I pause. "So, my turn? What did you mean by used to?"

"I used to live in a house and I owned a grand piano," he started. "But when I had to move to a smaller place I had to sell it."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I wish I could hear you play."

He smiles at me and we continue our game. I learned that he was an only child, and his parents also died in a car accident. He's 25, his favorite food is French, he's a dog person, and his favorite subject in school was English. He's the most interesting person I've ever met. And very mysterious, he easily answered all of my questions, giving my very little detail. It took forever to finish our game of twenty questions, since we would stop to tell funny stories about the previous question or get to talking about a different subject and by the time we were done the sun had started to set. My phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered on the third ring.

"Bella, are you ok? Do you need Emmett to come pick you up?" I could hear Alice's worried voice.

"I'm fine, Alice. Umm, hold on," I say turning to Edward and asking if he can walk me home, I didn't want him to go just yet. He agreed and I got back on the phone. "No Alice. Edward's going to walk me home."

"Alright, I'll see you soon," she says and then hangs up. I put my phone back in my purse and turn back to Edward.

"It seems that I have a curfew," I said with a frown.

"Well, I'm sure they're just worried, with what happened the other night and all," he says with another crooked smile. I'm learning to love those. I smile back. "Shall we go?"

"Alright," I agree and we start walking. "Its not that far."

It was quiet for a long time, or at least it seemed like a long time. But it wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable. We exit the park and start walking the long way to my house, since cutting through the cemetery was out of the question.

"So, where do you live?" Edward asks

"I live on craven drive," I say wondering if he knows where that is.

"Oh…" he says, looking down sadly. "Nice neighborhood."

"Well, we had to get a bigger house since there's five kids," I explain, he just nods. "So, what about you?"

"What?" he responds, his face turning a little pale.

"Where do you live?"

"Oh, I… umm…" he didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I move around a lot."

"Really? How come?" I ask as we turn the corner down craven drive.

"Well… I just don't like to stay in one place for to long,"

"Oh," I reply. I look up and see that we're a few houses away from my house. I point. "It's the pale green one."

He stares at the house for a while. We reach the steps and I turn to him not sure how I should say goodbye. This wasn't a date right? He smiles looks to the ground awkwardly.

"So I had a good time," I say, he looks up and smiles.

"Me too."

"Maybe we can do it again tomorrow?" I ask. "Same place, same time?"

"Sure," he agrees with a crooked grin. He looks at the house again, and a confused look crosses his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He doesn't say anything, just looks down both ends of the street.

"What street did you say this was?" he asks looking at me.

"Craven drive," I tell him. He looks frustrated for a moment, then he looks to my neighbors house.

"Oh, umm, I got to go," he says, pausing for a moment before turn away. I give him a confused look.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" I shout as he's walking down the sidewalk.

"Ya!" he yelled back walking faster down the street and around the corner.

I frown, confused, and make my way into the house. I guess I'll just ask him tomorrow, I sigh. I make my way up the stairs to my room and flop down on the bed. Alice comes in and sit next to me.

"Hey you," she says with a smile. "How was your date?"

"It wasn't a date, Alice," I roll my eyes. "We're just friends."

"Sure," she says with a sly smile. "So how'd it go?"

"Great, I'm gonna meet him tomorrow."

"Oooo, where are you going?" she asks.

"Just to the park again," I shrug, pretending its no big deal, but inside I was giddy.

"That sounds nice," she smiles.

There was a distant voice calling for Alice. She rolled her eyes and leaves the room. I went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before deciding to go to bed early. The earlier I get to sleep, the soon I'll be able to see Edward again. I close my eyes and dreamed of his perfect face.

**Soooo? Whatcha think? I hope you guys liked it. I tried not to make her seem to desperate, but I think I may have failed. LoL. I think Macauley is writing the same chapter in Edwards POV, so we can see what kind of mischief Edward is up to. Hehe. **

**I would love if maybe you guys could give me some suggestions on how to make Bella sound less needy and desperate. So if it's not too much trouble I would love some advice. Thanks.**

**Oh! And please, please, please review. We love receiving comments for you guys, so leave us some love! **

**Tasha ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey everyone its Macauley. Thank you for all your support. Sorry for taking so long. I had a writers block, and I decided to give up. Thanks to Natasha I tried again and did my best. And this is what I got. Thank you Tasha.

**CHAP 5 **

**EPOV**

I walk away from Bella and stop at the corner of the sidewalk, turning around just in time to see her get into the jeep with her brother and drive out of view. I smile, glad that I helped her out. She's very sweet and kind. I can tell when I look into her eyes. My smile fades when I notice the color of the sky.

"Ugh…" I moan. Now I wont get a room at the shelter again I thought to myself, walking to my spot in the cemetery.

When I wake up it looks to be about noon-ish. So I wander around until its time to head to the shelter.

Walking seemed to take forever, but eventually I reached the shelter, a long line forming in front of the entrance. I get in the line, waiting impatiently, hoping I get a bed.

An old man with a black beanie, a big, dark green drenched coat, baggy old jeans and torn black boots, turns around to face me.

"Hey Edward, thought you wouldn't make it. 'lots of families trying to get in tonight. Foolish of you coming here pretty late," he says with a friendly voice.

"Hey Tony," I respond. "I know, I've notice. Wonder why there's so many…"

"It's a government project, you know?" he ponders. "Think about it… People are losing money while the government keeps spending billions and billions and billions on experimentations and¾"

"Sir are you going in or not? We got to keep the line moving" a women next to the entrance says to Tony.

"I'm coming, I'm coming… see ya Eddy hope there's still room for ya!"

He rushes into the building happily.

"Bye Tony," I managed to say as soon as he enters the building. Don't think he heard me though. I walk up to the lady.

"1 person ma'am," I give her my information and she allows me to go through.

While walking, Bella enters my mind. I'd like to talk to her, hear her voice again. Its sweet and, well… I don't really know what else. I think there's something about her that makes me feel good inside. Perhaps its her aura?

A lady stops my train of thought when I hear her raising her voice at the volunteer women blocking what looks like the older ladies daughter from the entrance.

"Please let her in she can squeeze in with me!" the mother shouting with intensity. You can really see worry in her eyes.

"Ma'am I'm sorry, but I cant allow that. Its our policy, we cant have more people then the building limitations allow. If anything we don't want anything to travel quickly" the volunteer lady says with sympathetic expression.

"Mom don't worry, I can take care of myself. I'll be fine, just go in with Thomas and Chastity," the girl says with a strong and disobedient voice.

I try blocking them out of my head. _Ok, Edward, ignore them_. _Just walk in and get your sleep and tomorrow you'll try to reach Bella and take it from there_. _You deserve this_….

My feet moving without my brains say. I enter the building, but stop after a few feet and sighing heavily before turn back onto the street toward the commotion. I Interrupt the mother protests.

"Excuse me…" I say with hesitation.

"What? I will not calm down!" she yells at me.

"No! no! I wasn't gonna tell you to calm down!" I said, my hands up ready to defend myself from this very upset mother.

"Where do you think your going? Get your ass back here!" she says to her daughter already walking away.

I sigh and blocking them from my mind. I turn to the panic volunteer who looks like she's about to lose it and run away with fear of being hurt.

"Excuse me, but do you think I would be able to give my bed to the ladies daughter?"

"W-what?" The volunteer says looking at me with a surprised expression. I repeat what I said and she smiles with relief, glad she wont have to deal with the mother any longer again.

"Yeah sure, but you may cant get it back if you change your mind," She says hoping that I wont.

" I understand," I said with confirmation. I approach the mother cautiously.

I tap the woman and explain the new situation. "Ma'am I know its not the same but at least your daughter would be in the same building as you"

"OMG! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" She cries and gives me a big hug. Ugh, I should've seen that coming. Man this lady is strong! She lets go and turns to her children. She tells her children with strong authority.

"Come on, lets get inside. Cindy your sleeping with your brother and sister, Ill sleep alone."

Great…. I say to myself. Now what? I look and see the volunteer hesitate before telling the rest that there's no more available beds. Sigh… Well at least I did the right thing. I'll just have to find another place to sleep. I start walking down the sidewalk, away from the build.

"Hey!"

I take my eyes off the pavement and look in the direction of the voice, to where a guy with a Lakers jersey and black basketball shorts is standing in front of a black mustang. It was Anthony. The cop that was nice to me when I was in the cell that night. I think back to the cemetery where I saved that girl.

"Hey, did you hear me?" he looks at me with a confused impression.

"y-yeah" I managed to say.

"I saw what you did. That was really nice of you," he says approvingly. "Not that many people will go out of their way to help someone like that."

"It was nothing, I'd want someone to do that for my family if that was the case."

"I knew I was right about you. I have a good sense of character. I can tell who are good just by talking to them. Why don't you come spend the night at my place? I don't mind. A guy like you should be rewarded. No homo though. Just come I'm nice don't mean you get to get any funny ideas"

I chuckled. " No worries, thanks, I appreciate it a lot".

We enter the car and Anthony drives off.

"Hey man…. Sorry about the other night, I wasn't myself"

I turn to him with a confused impression. "What do you mean?"

"I was on some crazy dope, never again though, that shit's crazy"

I opened my eyes surprised that a cop would be doing drugs. I turn my head facing the window on my right, looking outside into the darkness.

"Its not what you think, My bro and I made a bet. He bet that I wouldn't get away with it being on it," he explained. "I know what your thinking. Stupid right? I know. But when you live a life I've been leading. You'll understand. I grew up with my face in books, weekends on doing extra work for my classes."

"There's a time in your life where you say to yourself. What have I done that was exciting? What have I done that was worth remembering?" he continues.

I give him a small smile. I remember doing something exciting. Marrying Tanya, rushing to Vegas. People were against us getting married. They said we were to young, they said we should wait. It wouldn't work out. Well, they were right, but it was exciting to do something you believe in needless of what people say.

"So now at least you can tell people that you've been high on the job in a police station" I said with a smile.

Laughing, Anthony says "Yeah."

We enter his house. He leads me upstairs leading me to my room. Pictures of him and his family. Smiling happily. Plenty of pictures of his family. I guess he's really close to his family. Wish I was.

"Ok, this is your room". he opens a room with a twin bed against the other side of the room. Walls covered with posters of swimsuit models, custom cars, and basketball players.

"Thank you. You don't even know how thankful I am for this."

"Hey, no problem. Glad to help someone in need. There's just 4 rules you need to know," he starts. "1. You can use anything you like, just don't mess up anything. 2. I feel that the bathroom is a good place for meditation. And no one messes with my meditation, so when your done using the can, flush it and if you take the kids out into the pool spray the can. I like the bathroom to smell good so I'm able to meditate. 3. Don't steal anything. I trust you so I'm not that worried about it. Just a reminder. Don't make me ever feel not to trust you. 4. I know how good those girls look up on my wall. So don't mess up my sheets," he finishes, giving me a smile before heading downstairs.

"Wait! " I said.

"Whats up?"

" Why do you trust me?" I said confused.

"Anyone that's willing to put their life on the line to save a girl from a couple of pigs deserves my trust."

He gives me a smiles and walks downstairs. Leaving me puzzled, I dropped it and slip myself into the sheets. I chuckle when I see a Asian model in a swimsuit winking at me from the ceiling. I close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep quickly.

I wake up the next morning. Fix my bed and take a shower. Dressing in the bedroom I slept in. I find a note on top of the cabinet next to the bed. I open it

_Good morning Edward, I needed to go to work early so I trust you will lock up before you leave. Oh and there's a yellow key in the ashtray next to the door downstairs. I use it to keep keys in. Feel free to come and go. I forgot to tell you but…. I know you. I'm dating Tanya's best friend Irina. So… now you know. Alright _

_Bye._

He's dating Irina? Fuck. they are so close. They go everywhere together. I hope they don't come here anytime soon. I don't wanna see Tanya. I don't wanna deal with her. Feeling frustrated, I calm down when I see a phone downstairs next to the sofa. I smile. Ill call Bella. See what she's up to.

I go downstairs, look at the time. Good its 12:20pm. That's not early is it? Not knowing what time she wakes up. I took the chance and just grab the phone and dial the number. After 2 rings the someone picks up.

"Is this Bella?" I say smiling.

"Naw, this is Emmett who's this?" he says in a deep voice.

My smile disappears and I suddenly become nervous.

"Sorry, But is there a girl there by the name of Bella? Its Edward, and I'd like to talk to her," I say with my most polite voice.

"Well, Edward, I don't appreciate you tryin to talk to my woman," he says.

What? Didn't she tell me she didn't have a boyfriend? Is this the wrong Bella? I'm trying to contact. Thinking on how many girls I know that are called go by the name Bella. As soon as I was about to Apologize. I suddenly hear crackling in the line where I make it sounds like a struggle. Like if someone was fighting over the phone. Then I hear some guy laughing in the background, Then becoming distant.

"Bella?" I ask in a hesitant voice.

"Yes, it's me," She assures me. "I'm sorry, my brother was just being an Idiot."

"Oh, that's ok," I say with a nervous chuckle. Relief that it wasn't her boyfriend. Its quiet for a few seconds. "So… umm… how are you?"

"Good," she says with a happy tone "How are you?"

"Good," I answer. Its quiet again.

"Do you… do you wanna do something with me today?" she ask, to break the silence.

"I'd love that," I say, Hope she doesn't hear the excitement in my voice. "How about we meet at the park?"

"Great," she agrees. "It's 12:30 now. How bout I meet you in a half hour?"

"Ok," I say.

"Great, see you then," she says.

We say our goodbyes before we hang up. I grab the key and head out the door and go in the direction of the park. Tanya suddenly forgotten. I saw it, when Anthony and I were heading to his place. Its only about 6-8 blocks away from his house. Couldn't tell of the distance he distracted me when we began talking.

After awhile I start to jog. Don't wanna be late. When I arrive I see her looking around. Looks like she thinking that I bailed on her or something. So I Clear my throat loud enough so I can get her attention. As she turns to face me I cant help myself to smile at her. She looks very pretty today

"I was beginning to wonder if you where coming, or whether I was to late and you left," she says with a small laugh.

I chuckles and make my way to her, and sit next to her

"Sorry I was late, I had to… walk here."

"No problem," she says.

"You look very nice," I said. Damn, maybe I should've said pretty instead? Or beautiful? Then I notice her blush and look down. I smile. Never mind, play it cool.

"Thank you," she says. I couldn't help but stare at her for a long moment. I look at her face. She still looks beautiful even with a bruise on her face.

"What?" she ask, looking awkward.

"Your eye…" I say, reaching to touch her eye. She close her eyes and leans touch as I lightly brush my finger against the covered up bruise.

"I'm sorry I was late." I shouldn't have hesitated. What was wrong with me?

"You already apologized for that," she reminds me. I drop my hand and she opens her eyes.

"I meant that night," I said softly.

"Don't you dare apologize. I owe you my life," she says, shaking her head. "I was lucky you came at all."

I sighed, What If I wasn't there? The thought just haunted me.

"Lets talk about less depressing things, ok? How bout a game of twenty questions?" she suggests

"Alright," I say and give her a small smile and I began to loosen up

"Alright, you first," she says with a smile.

"Favorite color?" I ask.

"Green," She says with a slight blush, looking at my eyes, I give her a crooked smile

"Umm… same question."

"Brown," I say, smiling at her and she blushes again.

"Do you want to walk?" I ask

"Sure," she says.

"And that doesn't count as a question." I say thinking quickly. I laugh and we start walking down the path around the huge park.

"How many siblings do you have?" I ask.

"technically, none," she responds. I give her a confused look. She has half- brothers?

"One question at a time." she playfully scold me. "Do you play any instruments?"

"I used to play piano," I reply. Wonder if she's into musicians.

"Used to?" she questioned

"One question at a time," I mock. She's sneaky. She laughs and nods.

"What did you mean, technically?" I asked curiously.

"Well, my parent died in a car accident, and I didn't have any brothers or sisters," she explain. "When my parents died my Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme claimed custody over me, and they have four adopted children. So its like they are my siblings."

"I'm sorry about your parents," I managed to say.

"Thanks," she says. We're quiet for a moment. "That boy you saw yesterday, the one you

thought was my boyfriend, he's one of their adopted children. He's also the one who answered the phone today." she explain with a blush. I chuckled and nod. I'm beginning to enjoy her blushing

"Oh. I was afraid, when he answered the phone, that you gave me the wrong number."

"I'm sorry about him, he likes to joke," she says. She pauses. "So, my turn? What did you mean by used to?" She asks.

"I used to live in a house and I owned a grand piano," I started, thinking back. "But when I had to move to a smaller place I had to sell it."

"I'm sorry," she says. "I wish I could hear you play."

I smile at her and we continue our game. I learned that she loves Italian food, she's also a dog person, and she also loves English. She tells me about here college courses, and how she's taking this fall semester off to spend more time with her family. She's the most fascinating person I've ever met. She easily answered all of my questions, giving me a lot of details. It took forever to finish our game of twenty questions, since we would stop to tell funny stories about the previous question or get to talking about a different subject and by the time we were done the sun had started to set. Her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered on the third ring.

"Bella, are you ok? Do you need Emmett to come pick you up?" I could a girls voice saying with a worried voice.

"I'm fine, Alice. Umm, hold on," She says turning to me and ask if I can walk her home, I of course said yes. She got back on the phone. "No Alice. Edward's going to walk me home."

"Alright, I'll see you soon," she says and then hangs up. she puts her phone back in her purse and turn back towards me.

"It seems that I have a curfew," she says with a frown.

"Well, I'm sure they're just worried, with what happened the other night and all," I say with another crooked smile. "Shall we go?"

"Alright," she agrees and we start walking. "Its not that far."

It was quiet for a long time, or at least it seemed like a long time. But it wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable. We exit the park

"So, where do you live?" I ask curiously

"I live on craven drive," she says.

"Oh…" I say. Trying to place why I know that street.

"Nice neighborhood." I managed to say.

"Well, we had to get a bigger house since there's five kids," she explains, I just nod.

"So, what about you?"

"What?" I said surprisingly, I can feel my face going pale

"Where do you live?"

"Oh, I… umm…" I didn't say anything for a few seconds. What do I say? "I move around a lot.". Nice, That was a smart response. I feel bad lying to her.

"Really? How come?" she ask as we turn the corner down craven drive.

"Well… I just don't like to stay in one place for to long,"

"Oh," she replies. She points. "It's the pale green one."

I stare at the house for a while. I knew it….. SHIT. We reach the steps and she turns to me. Uhhh…. How would I say bye without making it seem awkward?

"So I had a good time," she says, I looks up and smile.

"Me too."

"Maybe we can do it again tomorrow?" she ask. "Same place, same time?"

"Sure," I say with a grin. I look at the house again, I need to get away from here as soon as possible…

"What's wrong?" she asks. I don't say anything. I cant tell her, not now… Everything is going so well… I don't wanna ruin it. I just look down both ends of the street.

"What street did you say this was?" I asks looking at her. Need to be sure. I may be just paranoid that's all.

"Craven drive," she tells me. Fuck I thought, then I look to her neighbors house.

"Oh, umm, I got to go," I say, trying to sound polite, pausing for a moment before turn away. She gives me a confused look.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" she shout as I went walking down the sidewalk.

"Ya!" I yelled back walking faster down the street and around the corner.

When I get away from her view I work myself to a sprint and rush back to Anthony's house.

So what do you guys think? Sorry for keeping you all waiting. I made it long to make up for the time. =) I put Anthony in the story, because I felt like Edward needed a supporting character. Bella has her family and It came to me that it was easy for me to put Anthony in. Especially now he has somewhat to do with Tanya. Plz give me some advice on how I could improve Anthony in becoming a better supporting character. Do you guys like the way Edward is acting/thinking? Im doing my best here and thankful for any suggestions. Thank you every1 and for your support. Natasha is a good writer so keep reading her stories. I apologize again for the big long wait. Thank you


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I was giddy at the thought of him. I sigh and then giggle. I'm acting like a school girl crushing on a boy for the first time. I stand up and start jump on my bed, laughing. Alice walks in my room and stares at me.

"What are you so giddy about?" She asks, I stop jumping and just smile.

"Oh, nothing," I sigh.

"Wait, is it a boy?" She asks with a huge smile. She comes and stands on the bed with me. I just giggle and start jumping again. "ROSE!" she shouts jumping with me.

Rose comes threw the door. "What? Why are you yelling?"

"Look at Bella," she says.

"What about her? She looks like a bubbly idiot," Rose comments. I pick up a pillow and throw it at her, she catches it and glares at me.

"Cant you tell?" Alice shouts, with a huge smile. "She's in love!"

"What!" Rose and I shout at the same time.

"Yes!" Alice confirms. "Look at her, she's glowing!"

"Oh, shut up, Alice. I'm not glowing," I say, rolling my eyes and getting of the bed.

"Yes you are! I haven't seen you this happy since… well you know," she says, sitting on the bed. "So who is he?"

"I'm not in love with him," I say. Rose comes in and sits next to Alice.

"So there is a guy?" Rose asks. "Who?"

"No one!" I shout, hiding my face in a pillow.

"Come on, tell us," Alice pouts. I sigh and move the pillow.

"Well you know Edward?" I start. Alice's eyes get big

"No," she says sounding surprised, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yes," I say back and she starts giggling like an idiot.

"Who's Edward?" Rose asks confused.

"The man who saved her, they hung out yesterday," Alice explains, waving her hand at Rose as if she's dismissing the question. "I forgot, you said something about meeting him again today, right?

"Is that where you were yesterday?" Rose asks before I can answer Alice's question.

"Yes," I explain. Rose still looks confused. "I'll start from the beginning."

And I do. Starting with how he saved me that night to me getting him out of jail and lastly the 'date'.

"He's really sweet, but very vague. He didn't seem too comfortable talking about himself," I finish.

"Maybe he has a dirty secret that he doesn't want you to find out," Alice wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"Or maybe your reading to far into it," Rose comments. Alice and I both look at her confused, she sighs. "Don't get me wrong, Its nice to see you like this. I cant remember the last time you were so happy. But I don't want you to get hurt because you over analyzed things, when its not what he means."

"I'm not over analyzing," I say defensively. "I told you. He's just really sweet and I like him. He saved my life."

"But maybe you only like him _because_ he saved your life," Rose argues. "You hardly know him. Its only been a couple of days." I just stare at her, not knowing what to say. She sighs and opens her mouth to say something, but Alice interrupts her.

"She just means that she wants you to be careful."

"So I shouldn't go out with him again?" I ask, disappointed that they didn't approve.

"No, you can. Just be cautious," Rose says.

"Good," I say with a smile. "Because I'm supposed to meet him at 1 today."

"Ooooo, Where r u going this time?" Alice starts interrogating.

"We're just meeting at the park again," I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

"A better question is; what are you going wear?" Rose joins the conversation, a soft smile on her features and all judgment gone from her face.

I smile back, before answering her question. "I was just gonna wear jeans and a t-shirt."

"No, definitely not," Alice says. "I refuse to let you meet him in you old jeans and one of your baggy band t-shirts."

"But we're just going to the park," I say, rolling my eyes.

Alice and Rose just sit quietly thinking to themselves, until Alice smiles and turns to Rose. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Shopping?" Rose replies.

"Shopping," Alice confirms.

"No way," I say, crossing my arms in defiance.

"Aww, come on, Bella!" Alice whines. "Please, please, please?"

"No, Alice," I say firmly. She starts pouting, and I sigh. "But we're just hanging out at the park."

"YAY!" Alice shouts and jumps up, pulling me with her. Rose just laughs and starts heading downstairs, with Alice and I in tow.

"I know the perfect store at the mall," She announces as she grabs her keys.

The drive to the mall didn't take long, I sulked in the back seat the whole time. When we reach the mall and they drag me inside.

"Come on, Bella, stop sulking," Rose orders and then stops outside of a clothing store. "Here it is."

Alice wastes no time, barging in and picking out outfits. I sigh and start to follow her, but a store clerk stops me.

"Hello. Is there something I can help you find?" She asks.

"Oh, ummm, no. I think my friend has it covered," I motion to Alice, still grabbing things off of the hangers and adding them to a giant pile she's formed. "Thanks though."

She laughs, looking amused, and turns back to me. "You look familiar. Have I met you before?"

"I don't think so," I say, looking her over. She did look familiar, but surely I would remember meeting some as beautiful as her. She's tall with strawberry-blond hair, and a perfect figure, not better then Rosalie's, but any model would still be jealous.

"I swear I've seen you somewhere," she thinks aloud, tapping her finger on her chin.

It suddenly dawned on me where we'd met. "You live on craven drive right? I think you borrowed our lawn mower once."

"Of course!" she says, remembering. "Your Carlisle and Esme's daughter, right?"

"Yup, that's me," I smile and extend my hand to shake hers. "I'm Bella."

"Tanya," she replies shaking my hand. She opens her mouth to say something, but Alice interrupts her.

"Bella! Hurry up and try these on," Alice orders. "You have to be there at one, right? Its almost 11."

I sighed and turned to Tanya. "Her majesty calls."

"Let me know if you need help," she says before turning to help another customer.

I walk to Alice and take the pile from her arms. There are only three pairs of pants in the pile, the rest consisting of skirts, shirts, and couple dresses. I don't even bother with the dresses and stuck with the jeans, walking into the dressing room hallway to show Alice and Rose. They made faces at each outfit I tried on. When I finally reached the last outfit, Dark skinny jeans and a pink baby doll top, Alice nods in approval.

"The pants are perfect, but I don't like the top," She critiques. "What do you think, Rose?"

"love the shirt, but it's not casual enough," She agreed.

I sigh heavily. "Can we go now? I have perfectly good shirts at home. Get the pants if you must."

"Try this," Tanya holds out a light green shirt. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ease drop."

"Don't worry about it," I say taking the shirt from her. "Thanks."

"No problem. Its my job," she smiles.

I change shirts. This green one is longer then the others, the hem stopping at the top of my thighs, tightly fit and has a low v neck line that shows just the right amount of cleavage. I step back out into the hall so the shirt can be approved. Alice, Rose, and Tanya are laughing about something. I clear my throat. Alice looks me up and down inspecting the new outfit, then she smiles.

"Perfect," she says. She turns to Tanya. "Your good."

"Thanks. So, is this for a date?" she directs the question at me.

"Umm, kinda," I say with a blush.

"Well, if your going for casual, that outfit is perfect," She says.

Alice grabs my clothes and tells me to wear the new outfit out of the store. So we pay and Tanya says bye, insisting that we hang out sometime. I complained the whole ride back about how we didn't need to buy a new outfit when I have enough clothes. When we got home Alice rushed me up to her room and start putting on make-up, while Rose did my hair.

"You guys, your making to big a deal out of this. Its just the park," I whine.

"Just sit still, it wont take long," Rose says.

I sigh but do as they say. About 20 minutes later they announced that they were finished. I looked at my self in the full length mirror. Alice had given me a natural look, mainly highlighting my eyes. My cuts healing nicely and Alice put cover up on my again, so it didn't look too bad. My hair is what had taken time. Rose had managed to get my natural waves to curl, and pins are holding hair away from my face, a few strands hanging loosely.

"Okay, so you guys are brilliant," I praise them.

"We know," Alice says smugly. She tosses me a jacket and some green flats that match the shirt. "Now let get you to the park, its 12:50."

Rose drove and we arrived with 2 minutes to spare. Edward's there already and is sitting on the same bench as yesterday, playing absentmindedly with his fingers. Rose and Alice give looks of pleasant surprise.

"Nice," Rose comments. I laugh before I get out of the car.

"Got your phone?" Alice shouts when I start walking away.

"Yup," I say, holding it up to show her.

"Put it in the pocket that's on the inside of the jacket," she orders.

I roll my eyes, but do as she says before walking away. I walk up to him, a shy smile on my face. "Hey."

He looks up and smiles. "Hey."

I sit on the bench next to him, a silence falls over us. "So… what happened with you yesterday?" I ask to break the silence.

"Oh…umm…" he didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Well, I used to know someone who lived on that street. I don't know if they still live there but we don't exactly get along. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry," I say to soothe the uncomfortable look on his face. "What happened?… if you don't mind me asking."

"Nothing really, we just didn't agree on things…" he answers, the vagueness returning.

I decided not to dwell on it. He would tell me if and when he was ready. Another silence falls over us. I tried to think of something we could do to stop the awkwardness. I turned to ask him what he felt like doing, but he beats me to the punch.

"I brought bread," he stated. I stare at him in confusion, not knowing what to make of his statement. "I mean, I thought you might like to go to the duck pond and feed the ducks, so I brought bread," he explains.

I laugh, "Oh. Yeah, that sounds fun," I agreed. He lifted a bag of bread that hadn't noticed, and we started walking to the duck pond behind the library.

The library is only a couple blocks away so the walk won't take long. We walk in a comfortable silence. My mind wanders back to what had happened yesterday. Curiosity was eating at me, but I don't want to force information out of him. I wonder who he knew that lives over there. I try to think about of all the people who live on my street that I could picture Edward knowing.

"You look very pretty today," he complements, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Thank you," I say, a blush creeping into my cheeks.

"I'm glad to see that you injuries are healing nicely," he says, a sincere smile on his face.

"Yeah. I heal fairly quickly," I say. He gives me a funny look. "I'm a little clumsy, so I've had a lot of injuries."

"Ahh," he says as if he understands. "Well you should be more careful."

I give him a small smile just as we reach the library. We walk though to the back exit to the large pond they have in the back. There were a few people, some walking dogs and others just walking. Edward opened one bag of bread and handed me a few slices of bread.

I smile and walk closer to the pond, ripping pieces and tossing them into the water. The ducks and geese attack the pieces and I try to toss bread in multiple directions so that they all got some, scolding some of them when they steal pieces from the others. I giggle and tossed the last of my bread, before looking to Edward.

He's surrounded by geese. He tries to move away from them a slightly panicked look on his face. He tosses some bread at them, hoping it will send them away, but more start to gather, a few of them nipping at him. I laugh to myself and walk over to help him. I take some more bread out of the bag and walk to where he's standing.

"Come on, gooses," I beckon trailing bread pieces away from him. They follow, fighting each other for the bread. I lead them back to the pond and rip the rest of the bread, scattering it in different directions, before walking back to Edward. A strange look cross his features, but then he smiles.

"Didn't you ever learn how to feed the ducks?" I ask sarcastically.

"I wasn't aware that there were rules," he retorted with a small chuckle.

"There are _always_ rules," I reply. I hold my hand out for him to take. "Come, I'll show you."

He hesitates for a moment, but grabs my hand. My hand fit into his perfectly, as if they were meant for each other. I lead him to the pond after grabbing more bread. I show him how to rip pieces small enough, so that the ducks wouldn't choke. I explain that he should keep his finger away from them and that it's safer to feed the birds that are in the water.

"Geese aren't always friendly, especially the males, so you should be cautious when you approach them when they're out of the water," I explain with a mocking smile. "When they're in the pond its harder for them to bite you."

He laughs and rips more bread, tossing it into the water. I tell him about how my parents would bring me here to feed the ducks all of the time and once I was bitten by a goose. He laughed and we finished off the rest of the bread. We walk around the pond telling stories about our childhood. The sky starts to darken.

"You weren't lying when you said you were clumsy," he says, laughing. "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you."

I blush at the last comment. "Ya, good luck with that."

He smiles and opens his mouth to say something, but it suddenly starts to rain. The small amount of people who are out here run into the building for shelter. The rain falls harder and I grab Edwards hand, running toward the library. We're about half way there when I trip. Edward wraps his arms around my waist to catch me, but ends up falling with me.

We land in a giant mud pile with me landing on top of him. Our legs are tangled together, his arms still around me. I lift myself slightly from his chest, placing a hand by his head and look at his face, ready to apologize, but the words get stuck when notice how close we are. Our lips are only inches away from each other, his intense stare smoldering me. My heart rate accelerates to an impossible speed and it's harder to breathe.

He reaches up and tucks a wet piece of hair behind my ear, his hand moving down and roaming over my shoulder and I can feel myself leaning in. My body tenses slightly with anticipation, my fingers digging into the mud by his head. He leans in, our lips barley an inch apart. I bring one of my hands to his hair… rubbing a fist full of mud in it.

I cant hold in my laughter, looking at the expression on his face. After a moment his expression changes and a sly smile spreads on his lips as he picks up a handful of mud. I stopped laughing and stand, backing away slowly with my hands up in surrender. He stands and stalks toward me.

"Edward, don't," I warn, trying to keep the laughter from my voice. He keeps coming closer. "Edward I'm serious."

He takes on more step and I turn to run, but he lunges at me, catching me by the waist and rubs the mud in my hair. I squeal and try to get away from him. He finally lets go and I stare at him an 'I-cant-believe-you-just-did-that' look on my face. Alice and Rose are going to kill my when I get home. He bends over, holding his stomach from how much he's laughing. I walk back to the mud pile and grab two handfuls of mud.

"You thinks this is funny?" I ask walking up to him.

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Bella I'm sor¾"

I cut him off by throwing one handful of mud at him. He looks surprised for a moment but then walks to get some mud of his own, and the mud war begins. We ran around in the pouring rain, throwing mud at each other. I don't know how long we kept this up before Edward held his hands up.

"Okay, you win. I surrender," He shouts over the rain, sounding out of breathe.

I smile and my new found victory and throw down the mud in my hands. He walk up to me and offers me his hand. He leads us to the large gazebo where we left our jackets in the bread bag so that they wouldn't get dirty. We sit on one the benches, still laughing how ridiculous we look. My hair is clumped together, a mixture of the rain and mud, and my light green shirt is covered in mud and barely looks green at all. He light gray shirt he's wearing looks almost black and his hair is sticking up in all directions thanks to the mud.

"I cant remember the last time I had this much fun, or laughed so much," He stared at me, still laughing. I smiled at him and he brought his hand up to my face, caressing my cheek. "Thank you."

My heart skips a beat and my breathing accelerated as he leans in. I start to feel light-headed and my gaze drifts to his lips and I started to lean in too, my eyes fluttering close. The sound of my phone ringing startles me, pulling me out of my ravine.

"Umm, sorry," I say still dazed. I answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bells," Emmett's voice greets.

"Hey, Em, what's up?" I ask, my head finally starting to clear.

"Well, we were just wondering if everything was ok," he says. "Alice told me to call and see if you need to be picked up, since its raining and all."

"No, I'll be fine," I pulled the phone away and look at the time, almost 5:22. "I'll be home soon."

"Okay. Call me if you need a ride."

"I will. Bye" I answer before hanging up and facing Edward, a blush on my cheeks. "Just my brother."

"Do you need to go home?" he asks. The rain starts to calm down becoming more of a heavy drizzle.

"No. I have a little bit of time," I smile, turning my body to its previous position.

"I should start walking you back then. By the time we get to your house it'll be time for you to be home," He states, standing.

I bite my lip to keep myself from pouting. "Oh…ok"

He looks at me and smiles. "Plus, I wanna make a good impression on your family," he says with a wink. He starts walking down the path that leads around the library.

I smile and decide to tease him. "And why is that?"

He turns to me, a confident smile on his face. "Because I plan to make you mine, and when I do it might be nice to have your families approval."

He smirked and walks away. My heart speeds up at his comment. I don't know where this confident Edward came from, but I like it. Maybe he feels more comfortable with me. It feels as if a small piece of the wall he keeps up has been chipped away. I smile and run to catch up to him.

We headed towards my house in a comfortable silence. It's nice that we can just walk or sit together without any awkwardness. It's almost frightening how close I feel to him in such a short amount of time. I've never liked anyone this much. Rosalie's comment from earlier today creeps into my mind. Do I really like him or am I just grateful? It feels stronger then gratitude, stronger then anything I've ever felt. For the first time since my parents died I feel happy.

"I think we're drawing attention to ourselves," Edward whispers to me.

I look around. We're about 10 minutes from my house and it's still drizzling so whoever is walking around has their umbrella. I don't see anything unusual, until I notice that the people closer to us are looking at us like we're crazy and I remember that we're still covered in mud.

I laugh, "Well, if your going to stand out, you might as well go all out, right?"

He smiles and shakes his head. "You're amazing, you know that?"

I blush and shake my head, "Not really."

"You are," He shakes his head in disagreement. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met."

"Well, your not so bad yourself," I reply as my blush deepens. We reach the corner of my street. "You don't have to walk me all the way to my house."

"But I want to," he insists and continues to walk toward my house. "I wont freak out this time, I promise."

I smile and we walk the rest of the way to my house. When we reach the porch I turn to him. "Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?"

"Lets plan a day for me to come for dinner," he replies with a smirk. "Preferably a day where I haven't shown up covered in mud."

"Agreed," I laugh. "How about next Tuesday?"

"Why Tuesday?" he asks

"My birthday's on the thirteenth."

He takes my hand, his eyes never leaving mine, turns my hand over and kisses the back of my wrist, which is surprisingly clean.

"I'll be there," he promises, showing me his beautiful crooked smile. "Thank you for today. It was the most fun I've had in years."

"Me too," I say, my breathing becoming shallow. He pulls me closer and leans in, placing another kiss on my cheek.

"I'll call you later."

"I'll be waiting by the phone," I reply.

He gives me a soft smile before backing down the walkway. I walk into the house in somewhat of a daze.

"Bella?"

"Ya, its me," I say breathlessly.

"How was…it?" Rose voice sounds from the living room entranceway. "What the hell happened?"

"I¾"

"Bella!" Alice interrupts, but stops mid-step. "What…?"

"We kinda got into some mud…" I explain.

"Yeah, we can see that," Rose says, then sighs. "Well, I hope it was worth it. It's gonna be a bitch trying to get that out of your hair."

I don't say anything just bite my lip.

"Lets get you in the bath," Alice says, rolling her eyes, but a she has a smile on her face.

I follow her upstairs, a smile plastered on my face. I don't care what they say or how they scold me later. It was definitely worth it.

_Stephanie: TASHA IS A FREAK! Just thought id let the world know! But she is my lover!_

**Lol. Hey everyone! (you can ignore that statement above. TeeHee my friends are weird.) ANYWAY… I'm glad to announce that we are officially back and are definitely going to finish this epic story. I hope you all like the chapter and, as always, your comments and review are welcome. **

**Tasha Waffle ;D**


	7. Just A Message

Hey everyone. I just want to apologize for the really, ridiculously long wait. I'm sure most of you have given up on this story, but I've been working through the kinks lately and have decided to finish it. Unfortunately Macauley has decided that he doesn't want to write with me, so I'm going to be doing this by myself. Which mean that there will either be less Edward Chapters or I'll make half the chapter BPOV and the other half EPOV. But I've never been very good at writing in the male prospective so forgive me if it's not very good. I also made a few changes in the previous chapters so that it makes more sense later on. I've started writing the 7th chapter and it should be up soon. Again I'm SO, SO, SO, SO, Sorry.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

EPOV

It's Sunday. I haven't seen Bella in almost a week. I replay the conversation in my head.

"I'm sorry. I'm under restriction," she had said in an annoyed tone. "My Aunt wants me to stay home and recuperate."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "For how long?"

"I don't know, but we're definitely still on for next Tuesday. You're still coming, right?" she asked.

"Wouldn't miss it," I reply. "Your party is only a few days away, and we can still talk on the phone."

"Absolutely," she agreed. A voice called her in the background. "Sorry, I have to go. Will you call me later?"

"Of course," I felt myself smile and we said our goodbyes.

Thursday was the last time I saw her and it's now Sunday. So I only have to wait two more days till I can see her again. Who would have thought that I could miss anyone so much? I mean, I only met her Monday when she got me out of jail. And ever since I saved her I just can't stop thinking about her. It's impossible to like someone I barley even know this much.

"Hey roomie," Anthony's Voice rings through the apartment. "Whatcha up to?"

"I'm applying for jobs," I say, taking my eyes away from the computer screen.

"Well good. Can't let you stay here for free forever," Anthony replies, walking to the kitchen.

"I really appreciate everything your doing for me. Letting me stay here and use your stuff…" I say awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it. I like you, Edward. You're a cool guy," he says digging through his fridge before he turns to me. "Plus, I've always wanted a roommate."

I smile and shake my head. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can manage it."

"Sure, sure," he says, waving me off as he makes a sandwich.

"I'll see you later. I'm going to take a walk around town," I tell him before heading out.

It's strange. I feel like my life is suddenly taking a turn for the better. In the begging, when I was living off of what little savings I had, I had applied everywhere like crazy. After I realized that no companies would hire me, it was clear that Tanya's father had something to do with it. I tried applying to anywhere I could think of, but not even grocery stores or fast food restaurants were hiring. It seemed like the world was against me and no matter how hard I tried I just kept falling further into this dark abyss that was turning into my life. I had given up. But then, for whatever reason, I helped her. I don't know why, but something had stirred in me that night. It was the first time in months that I hadn't felt… alive. I almost felt like the old me again.

I smile to myself, _Bella_. How could this one girl have such a drastic effect on my life? I walk around downtown looking through various windows and even picking up a few applications. I notice a help wanted sign posted in the flower shop window and, even though I've never arranged or dealt with flowers before, head into the shop to get an application. The bell above the door rings as I enter. And a girl behind the counter smiles at me.

"Hi, I noticed your help wanted sign and would like an application," I explain to the man behind the counter.

"Actually, the manager is here today so she might do an on the spot interview. Hold on, okay?" she says going to the back of the shop before I can stop her.

I start fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, getting nervous. I'm completely ill prepared for an interview. I don't necessarily have interview clothes, but I would have at least ironed my shirt or something. I check my clothes, making sure I don't see any stains. Well at least I have one more application with me.

"She says she'll see you," says the girl coming from a door in the back. "Her office is right through this door on the left."

I nod still unsure of what to do, but go through the door. I hesitantly knock on the door.

"Come in!" a man yells.

I open the door slowly. "Hello," I say once I'm inside.

"Have a seat," he says looking up from a stack of papers on his desk. "So you're interested in working here."

It sounds more like a statement rather than a question, but I reply "Yes, sir," anyway, as I take my seat. "I have a resume," I say, handing it to him.

He takes a minute looking over it, than one of his eyebrows go up. "You have bachelor's degree in business?"

"Yes," I say hesitantly.

"And you want to work in a flower shop?" He asks skeptically.

"It's kind of a long story," I begin. I sigh quietly. "I worked as a paid intern for a company for a little while, but…I've decided to pursue other career option. Try some new things."

"Uh-huh," He gives me a look before shaking his head. "So you have customer service experience?"

"Besides dealing with people from the company," I try to think. "I work at the college bookstore while I was going to school, but only during the rush times right before the semester started. That was a while back though."

"Well, you seem… capable enough to handle simple tasks. And, although you don't have very much experience in sales or floral arrangements, I'll consider you."

"Thank you very much," I say and stand.

"Tell Angela that I said to show you the ropes," He says as I'm walking to the door.

"But I thought you said you'd consider me?" I respond, confused.

"Yes. Well I can properly assess you unless you're doing the tasks, can I?" he replies. "Come back tomorrow at 7. Angela will assist you then."

"Thank you," I say still confused. I leave the room and head back out to the front of the store. Angela's behind the register.

"How'd it go?" She asks.

"It went well… I think He told me to tell you to show me the ropes," I say. "I'm supposed to come back tomorrow at 7."

"Well good for you," Angela says. "He's a little picky about the people he hires."

"Lucky me," I say quietly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"7am," she replies with a smile.

I wave goodbye as I'm leaving the store. I can't believe it. I might actually have a job. Of course he still has to assess me, or whatever, but how hard can it be really? I smile as I make my way back to the apartment, excited to tell Anthony the news.

BPOV

"Ugh!"I fall back against my pillows.

"Bella," Rose says exasperated. "You have to stop this. It's only been a couple days!"

"But I feel bad lying to him," I say.

"It's for your own good," Alice says.

"Ya, I know," I sigh. "Do you really think this will work?"

"If he still wants to go out with you and you still want to go out with him by Tuesday then that's great. But you should really slow things down for now," Rose explains again.

"She's right, Bella. We're just worried about you," Alice says.

"Okay, okay!" I sit up. "Well, what am I supposed to do till Tuesday?"

"We're planning your party, duh," Alice says excitedly.

"Alice, I don't want a party," I say for the 10th time. "Just us okay?"

"But, Bella! I've been planning for weeks," Alice whines. "I already sent out invites and it's only a few more people. So please, please, please!"

"Alice!" I glare at her. "Well I guess I have no choice."

"You'll thank me, I promise."

I grab a pillow and throw it at her. "Fine"

For the next few hours Alice went over party details with me. I mostly tuned her out, not really caring about what the party will include, as long as Edward's there. I know Rose is right. I shouldn't like someone so much after only two days of really knowing him. Maybe she's right about me only liking him so much because he saved me. But even so, I've never been more attracted or interested in someone this much. He excites me, and he's so mysterious. The less he tells me the more I find myself dragged under his spell.

"Tomorrow we'll go to the mall and pick out some dresses," Alice finishes.

"No, Alice. I have clothes," I refuse.

"But you need a party dress!" She whines giving me a pout.

I sigh. "Don't whine, Alice, and don't give me that look," I warn her.

"You know you're going to give in," rose says, trying to hide her laughter.

"I don't want to wear a dress, Alice! I just want to wear my jeans," I say. Actually I'd like to wear my sweats, but there's no way Alice would let me.

"Yeah, well, if you had it your way you'd probably wear your sweats," Alice mimics my thoughts. "Just let me do this for you. Please? I promise not to do anything to drastic."

I sigh again. "Fine, but I get to approve the dress."

Alice smile triumphantly. "You'll thank me once you see Edward's reaction."

I roll my eyes and shoo them out of my room so I can sleep. Even though its only 9 I feel exhausted. I change into my pajamas and crawl back in bed, falling asleep with little trouble.

When I wake up I see the sun is high in the sky. I get out of bed and shower before getting dressed. I head downstairs to see everyone in the living room.

"You guys let me sleep until almost 12," I say.

"Well you haven't gotten much sleep lately, so I let you sleep in," Alice says. "Plus you need all the energy you can get to go shopping."

"Just let me eat first okay?"

"We can grab something on the way," She says. "Come on Rose."

I slump to the car and we head to starbucks. I eat my pastry and drink my frappuccino. When we get to the mall it's all we can do to stop Alice from running inside.

"Hurry up you guys we only have six hours till it closes," Alice says, frustrated

"Alice it can't be that hard to find a dress," I say, trying to keep up with her pace.

It turns out that it can be very hard to find a dress. We go store to store looking at every dress we can find and all of them are either too short, or too formal, or to clubby. Nothing casual enough. Rose picks up a few things along the way, though. So at least someone is getting something out of this trip. We've gone through almost all the stores when I finally give up.

"Let's just go home Alice. I'm sure there's something I can wear."

"No, Bella. We need the perfect dress," She insists.

"It's just a party," I say, trying to sway her. "And it's not like the people who are going haven't seen what I normally look like."

"Don't you want to impress Edward?" She says.

"I don't think he'll care what I wear," I reply, rubbing my finger over the fabric of a dress. Alice doesn't say anything, just keeps looking trough the racks.

"Another date?" someone behind me says. I turn to see who it is.

"Oh, Tanya," I hadn't even realized what store we were in. "No, my birthday is tomorrow and Alice insisted on throwing a party. Apparently I need the perfect dress."

"She sure likes to shop doesn't she?" she comments with a laugh.

"Yup, and somehow I always get dragged along," I shake my head. "Anyway, I don't know if Alice invited you, but you're more than welcome to come."

"Thanks. I'll see if I can make it," She says. I hear someone call her from the opposite side of the store. "I got to go. I'll take to you later," she says before walking away.

"Bella!" Alice shouts. I turn to her.

"Don't shout in the store, Alice," Rose tells her.

"I found it," Alice says to me, ignoring Rose.

I look at the dress she's holding. It looks simple and it's definitely casual enough. She tells me to try it on and when I confirm it fits, she runs off to pay for it. When I look at the clock I see that it's already 6pm. When Alice comes back we head home. And I'm grateful because I'm starving. We pick up a few pizzas on the way home. My phone rings just as I'm reaching the door.

"Hello?" I answer, following Rose and Alice into the house.

"Hey," Edward says quietly.

"Hey," I say back.

"Are you busy?" he asks

"No, I just got home," I tell him. "Alice made me go shopping for tomorrow."

"That sounds like fun," he says.

I laugh. "I hate shopping, but Alice insisted I need a dress for the party."

"Party?" he asks sounding confused.

"Oh, I didn't get a chance to tell you since I didn't talk to you last night. Alice is throwing me a party. I just found out yesterday."

"Oh," he says in a quiet voice.

"I'm sorry. I know you were just expecting to meet the family," I say. "You'll still come though, right?"

"Of course," he says, sounding less excited than he did before. I hear Esme call me to eat.

"I have to go eat dinner," I tell him.

"Alright. Goodnight, Bella," he says.

"Goodnight," I say. "Oh. Edward?"

"Yeah?" he replies.

"You don't have to get me a present, or bring anything, okay? I'm just happy you're going to come."

"You don't want a present on your birthday?" he asks surprised

"Nope. I'm not one for presents. Just bring you," I confirm. "I'll see you tomorrow around 2?"

"Okay," he says cautiously. "Bye."

"Bye," I say before hanging up.

After dinner we all watch a movie, before bed. I lay in bed for almost an hour, until sleep finally comes, the excitement of tomorrow still on my mind.


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: I'm so sorry this to so long. I'm having more trouble than I thought I would. But I read over, corrected the issues, and here it is! Chapter 8. I hope you all like it.**

BPOV

"Alice, why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?" I whine.

"Bella! Stop whining and sit still," Alice says frustrated as she applies makeup. Rose laughs as she takes the curlers out of my hair.

I sit still and close my eyes while she applies eye shadow. We've been at this for an hour and a half and it was already 3 pm. Apparently perfectly manicured nails are essential for my look. I let them finish my hair and makeup and then go to the bathroom to change into my dress. It is a cute dress. Dark blue with thin straps, it's tighter around my chest and then falls into a few layers of ruffles, stopping about mid thigh. Alice was nice enough to get me matching flats instead of heels. I take a look in the full length mirror that hangs on the door. Rose has curled my hair, pulling half of it up and letting a few strands fall around my face. My makeup isn't too heavy. Alice has used blue eye shadow, a slightly lighter color then my dress. I walk back into the room.

"See, its perfect," Alice smiles at her work.

"You look really cute Bella," Rose comments.

"Thanks," I answer. "Can we please go downstairs now?"

"Yeah, yeah," Alice says rolling her eyes.

We head downstairs and people have already started to arrived. A couple friends of Carlisle's from the hospital and some friends of Esme's from her book club. I head over to the long table covered with finger foods and snacks. I've just started nibbling on a cracker when someone comes from behind me and puts their hands over my eyes. I jump slightly and drop my cracker, placing my hands over the ones covering my eyes. I feel the slightly rough skin.

"Guess who?" a low voice asks.

I gasp and turn around throwing my arms around his neck, holding on tightly as he spins me. "Oh my god, Jake! What are you doing here?"

He laughs, setting me back on the ground. "Why do you think I'm here? It's your birthday."

"I can't believe you came all the way here," I say, giving him another hug. "How are you? What have you been up to? How's Leah?"

"She's really good. She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry she couldn't make it. She's been really busy with the wedding plans," he answers, taking my hand and leading me to the couch.

"Oh yeah, have you guys set a date yet?"

"She wants it to be in June next year," Jake nods, twirling a piece of my hair in his fingers. "But forget about me. How are you?"

"I'm good," I say with a smile.

He sighs. "That's not what Esme says. She told me about you getting jumped."

I shake my head. "She's just being overly protective. I'm fine."

"It just happened a week ago," a worried look is plastered on his face.

"Jake, the bruises are gone and the cuts have scabbed. I'm fine, I swear."

"Yeah, cause she's been distracted," Rose teases sitting in the chair next to the couch.

"Distracted?" Jake asks confused.

"I bet Esme didn't mention Bella's crush," Alice chimes in.

"Shut up, Alice," I say blushing.

"It must be serious if Bella's blushing like that. Who is he?" Jake asks, intrigued.

"His name is Edward," Alice starts.

"And he's the one that saved her that night," Rose adds.

"Can you guys not talk about me like I'm not here?" I interrupt. "And it's not a big deal, we just hung out a couple times."

"Right," Rose drags out the word. "That's why you been obsessing over him since Thursday?"

"I'm not obsessing! I'm just a little annoyed that someone put me on Edward restriction," I counter back. They laugh and I cross my arms over my chest.

"Don't pout Bella," Jake says.

"He's coming today, you know. He should be here any minute," Alice smiles.

And, as if on cue, the doorbell rings. I hear Emmett yell that he'll get it, but I rush up to answer it before him. I don't want an incident to happen, like that phone prank he pulled. I fix my dress before opening the door. Edward is standing there with a bouquet of multi colored ruffled tulips. He holds them out to me and I take them, taking in the floral fumes.

"I didn't feel right showing up with nothing," he says.

"They're beautiful," I comment.

"You said they were your favorite, although you didn't mention what color, so I had a variety put together," he says, fiddling with his fingers.

"They're perfect," I smile up at him. "I don't even remember telling you what my favorite flower was."

"You only mentioned it," he replies.

"Well, thank you," I smile up at him. "Please come in."

He smiles back and I step aside so he can come in. "I'm gonna put these in water," I say.

I walk to the kitchen and look under the sink for a vase. I fill one with water and put in the flowers, being careful not to ruin any of them. I've just placed the vase on the kitchen table when Esme come around the corner.

"Oh my gosh. These are beautiful," Esme compliments. "Where did they come from?"

"Edward brought them for me," I answer.

"Oh?" she says in a knowing tone. "Is that the young man talking to Carlisle?"

"I don't know. I just came in here to put the flowers in a vase."

"Well if it is, he's very handsome," Esme smiles before walking over to the oven.

I walk into the family room and see that Edward is talking to not only Carlisle but to Emmett as well. They all laugh at something and Emmett replies. I start to walk over when Jake stops me. Alice and Rose step up next to him.

"Is that him?" Jake asks, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Go Bella," Alice nods approvingly, looking him over.

"Now I see why you've been obsessing," Rose comments.

"Can you guy make it a little less obvious that your staring?" I say to them.

Jake throws him arm over my shoulder. "Touchy."

I glare and playfully elbow him in his side. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"No, but it looks like he's hitting it off with Emmett and Carlisle," Rose replies.

I look over Jakes arm and see Carlisle and Emmett smiling. Edward looks over and smiles.

"Looks like he might get Carlisle's stamp of approval," Alice nods in agreement with Rose.

"Well he did save you. That's got to give him some brownie point," Jake says, then he nudges me. "Introduce us already."

I roll my eyes, but start to walk over slowly. They're laughing about something as I step in between Emmett and Edward.

"Having fun?" I ask.

"Edward was just telling us a funny story about when he was an intern," Carlisle explains.

"Oh?" I say. Edward's never talked about work before.

"Yup," Emmett nods at me before addressing Edward. "You're too funny, man."

Edward smiles at me. "I'll have to tell you about it sometime."

"I'd like that," I say. I turn to Carlisle. "Is it okay if I steal him? I want him to meet the others."

"Sure sweetheart," Carlisle answers. "I should go help Esme anyway. It was nice meeting you Edward."

"You too, sir," Edward responds shaking Carlisle's hand.

"Call me Carlisle," He insists before walking away.

Emmett say bye before going to talk to one of his friends. I motion for Edward to follow me to where Jake, Alice and Rose are waiting.

"Edward, this is Rose, Alice and Jake," I introduce. "Guys, this is Edward."

"Hi Edward, We've heard a lot about you," Alice says.

Edward shakes everyone's hands before say. "It's nice to meet you all. I've heard a lot about you as well."

"Bella has not stopped talking about you all week," Alice adds.

"Alice!" I shout mortified, the blood rushes to my cheeks.

Edward chuckles. "Well I haven't been able to stop thinking about her, so I guess that's good."

Alice smiles approvingly. I fell my cheeks burn more, if that's even possible.

"So how old are you Edward?" Rose asks.

"Twenty-five," he answers.

"Really? Huh," Rose says looking surprised.

"Yes. I'll be twenty-six in June," he nods.

"Why do you seem so surprised?" Jake asks.

"I think she was expecting the worse," Alice explains, then gives Edward an apologetic look. "No offense. She's just been worried about Bella. We all have."

"That's understandable. You all love her," He replies with a small smile. "She's lucky to have so many people that care about her."

I look at him, trying to place the look on his face. Sometimes when he speaks it's obvious that something in his past has hurt him. He won't tell me about it. He barely says anything about himself at all. I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready, if he's ready, but I just wish I knew what he was thinking.

My attention is drawn elsewhere when there's a loud crash. We all look over to see that a girl has dropped a glass.

"I'll go help her," Rose offers before walking away.

"You should go say hi to everyone, Bella," Alice says to me. "Edward can hang out with us until you're done."

"Oh...," I say, just noticing how many people have arrived.

"Edward doesn't mind," Alice insists. "Do you, Edward?"

"Of course not," Edward says with a smile. "It will give me time to get to know everyone better."

"Plus we can tell him embarrassing stories about you while you gone," Jake adds with a teasing smile.

I roll my eyes at him before sighing. "Fine. I shall be back."

I start off into the crowd of growing guests. I start with Carlisle and Esme's friends and work my way around the first floor accepting happy birthdays, hugs and gifts. It feels like hours once I finish saying hello to everyone. I go to the kitchen and get a soda before I start looking for Alice. I find Jake, Alice and Emmett standing in the hallway near the basement door. They seem to be laughing about something.

I squeeze in between Jake and Edward. "What are you guys talking about?"

Jake puts his arm around my shoulder, leaning on my slightly. "We were just telling Edward about the time you told that guy off."

"What guy?" I ask confused.

"That guy who was in your class!" Emmett says before smacking his forehead. "What was his name?"

"Travis," Alice answers with a smile.

"That's right! He was friends with Tyler right?" Rose adds.

Jake nods before chuckling. "Edward, you should have seen her face when she found out that he actually liked her."

"What did you say to him again?" Alice asks.

"It was something like 'I have standards'," Rose answers and they all laugh.

"It's not funny, you guys!" I say, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks. "I felt really bad."

"Poor Bella," Jake fake pouts and pats my head.

"I think I feel sorrier for the boys who went after her," Edward says, shaking his head. They all start laughing again.

"Jake was among those poor souls," Emmett says putting an arm around Edward. I give him a pointed look that says not to say any more, but of course he ignores me.

"Really?" Edward asks looking from Jake to me.

"Yup. She broke poor Jake's little heart," Emmett says give Jake a sympathetic look.

"I completely forgot about that," Rose says taking a sip from her drink.

"It was so long ago," Alice adds.

"Okay, moving on," I interrupt.

"Aww, Bella you're such a party pooper," Emmett complains.

"Don't you guys have better things to do than tell embarrassing stories about me?" I say.

"Don't be so sensitive, Bells," Jake replies. "Edward wanted to hear stories about when you were in high school."

"They weren't that bad," Edward assures me.

"Whatever," I counter back ready to leave to circle.

"Don't be like that, Bells. We're just teasing," Jake says grabbing my arm. "I know what will make you feel better."

"And what would that be?" I ask.

"Dancing," He says.

I look at him like he's crazy. "I hate dancing," I say slowly.

"Come on, Bella. It's a party," Rose says.

"I think Edward should get the first dance," Alice says before shoving me in Edward's direction.

I stumble forward and Edward catches me before I can fall. I look up at him and he smiles, helping me regain balance.

"I don't mind if you don't," He says the smile still on his lips.

"Okay," I nod in agreement.

He takes my hand and we head toward the living room where the music has been set up. I look back in time to see everyone smile and Emmett give me a thumbs up. I shake my head and laugh to myself. Edward leads me to the middle of the dancing crowd and we start dancing. It's a little awkward at first, but we adjust quickly and even though I hate dancing I'm having fun. The music is fast paced for a while and then a slow song comes on. Edward smiles and gives me a slight bow extending his hand to me. I laugh and take his hand.

"Well aren't you a perfect gentleman," I comment as we sway with the music.

He smiles. "I'm glad you think so."

"I'm sorry about my family," I say. "I hope they were nice to you."

"Of course. They were very welcoming, as well as entertaining," he replies.

"Were _they_ entertaining? Or was it their stories about me?" I ask.

"Both, I guess," he says with a chuckle.

I groan. "I hope they didn't say anything too embarrassing."

"They weren't all that bad," he reassures, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I smile and open my mouth to reply but Alice interrupts me.

"Bella, Tanya just got here. She wants to wish you a happy birthday," She informs.

I nod before turning back to Edward. "Do you want to meet…? Edward? What's wrong?"

I can't place the look on his face. He looks surprised, almost angry. I shake his arm slightly. He looks at me and shakes his head quickly.

"I'm going to get us drinks, okay? You go say hi to your friend," He says quickly before walking away.

I frown in confusion, but walk over to where Tanya and Rose are talking. "Hey," I greet.

"Happy birthday," Tanya says giving me a hug before she holds out a bag to me.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I tell her.

"But it's your birthday. Everyone likes presents on their birthday," She replies, shrugging of any concern.

I look into the gift bag and pull out a picture frame. The edges are all decorated with swirly floral designs. I smile. "Thank you."

"I wasn't really sure what to get you, but you can never have enough picture frames right?" She says.

"Thank you," I say again.

"No problem," She replies. "I wish I could stay, but I have something to do tonight."

"Oh. Well thanks for stopping by," I nod. "If you could stay longer I would have introduced you to Edward."

"Maybe next time," she says giving me another hug. "Happy birthday again."

"Thanks."

I wave goodbye and head to the kitchen. Esme smiles up at me. "Do you want to have cake now? It's almost 7."

"Sure," I nod.

"Everyone, it's time to sing happy birthday!" She shouts

"Finally!" Emmett yells as he comes around the corner

I shake my head and laugh as everyone gathers around. Carlisle comes in holding a huge cake covered in white and purple frosting. They sing happy birthday and I blow out my candles. Alice decides that it's also time to open presents so everyone heads to living room. Everyone takes turns handing me gifts and I exchange my thanks. Most of the gifts consist of gift cards to various book stores and other of clothes or jewelry. After I thank everyone people start to leave saying that they either have work or school the next day. It's not till now that I notice that I haven't seen Edward since I went to greet Tanya.

"Have you seen Edward?" I ask Alice when she steps up next to me.

"The last time I saw him he was heading upstairs. I think to use the bathroom," she replies.

"Okay, thanks," I say.

I say goodbye to the last of the guests before heading upstairs. I walk down the hallway listening for any sign that Edward's up here. I don't hear anything, but I check the bathroom anyway. When I see that he's not there I start to check the rooms. I see that the door to the study room is open and I peak in to see Edward standing just inside.

"Found you," I say. He turns around quickly looking startled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no. I'm sorry," he replies. "I shouldn't be in here."

"It's no big deal, it's only the study room," I say, stepping further into the room.

"I just saw the piano when I came up to use the restroom," he explains.

"Carlisle and Emmett moved it up here for the party," I tell him, running my fingers along the smooth, black surface. "They wanted more room for the sound system."

He doesn't say anything, just looks at the piano. "Do you play?"

"Only a little," I admit. "Esme tried to teach me, but she was often busy with work."

I lift the lid to reveal the keys. "Would you like to play?" I ask hesitantly, sitting on the bench.

"I couldn't," he says, shaking his head.

"Why not? Esme won't mind," I say.

"I'm out of practice."

"So? You can practice now," I insist. "I'd like to hear you play."

He sighs and takes a step closer. "Just one song… for you birthday."

I smile and nod as he comes to sit next to me. He takes a deep breath before placing his finger on the keys. He plays a couple easy melodies for warm-up, the notes sounding hesitant at first, but soon they flow easily and he moves to a more complex song. The song starts of slow, almost sweet sounding, and then gradually picks up. The melody engulfs the room, echoing in my ears as it transcends into a complicated array of notes. It's almost as if I can feel the emotion rising inside me as the melody get more intense. Then suddenly he stops. Then he continues the melody back into a slow peaceful pace. When he's done his hands hover over the keys before he reaches to close the lid. He looks at me, but I'm speechless.

"I told you I was rusty," he says with a small smile.

**Okay. So what did you all think? I'm going to try writing in Edward's POV next chapter. So please leave a comment about what you thought of this chapter and I'll try to have the next one up soon. **

**Tasha**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for the ridiculously long delay. I got a new job and have been really busy, but I'm working on the next chapter already and this one should be up much sooner. Sorry again, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 9. EPOV

This is not happening. Not here. Not now. Not when my life is finally starting look up.

She hasn't changed at all. She still straightens her strawberry-blond hair, as she did every day. She still wears heels. She used to tell me it was so she looked taller. And she's still undeniably beautiful. With that same welcoming smile that makes you feel like you can trust her. So why does it feel like there's something different about her?

It's then that I see it. Her hair is lacking that usual shine I remember it having. She's wearing too much makeup, much more than is necessary. Her smile seems almost forced, as if she's trying too hard to look pleasant. Her expressions, which I remember being so bright, are almost dull and void of emotion. She's nothing like I remember. My past memories of her were artificial. None of that seems real. Not now that I see her true intentions. Not now when I can see just how fake her actions really were.

The real question is what she's doing here. Obviously she knows Bella, but is this really a coincidence? Could she and Bella really be friends? Or is this a scheme to punish me further? She couldn't possibly know that Bella and I are… What are Bella and I? We've had yet to determine this. Bella and I have only been out a couple times, so there's no way Tanya could know that I know her. I'm just being overly paranoid.

"Edward? What's wrong?" I hear Bella say to me. But I can't seem to look at her, because Tanya's smiling at me. The smile she would use when she knew something I didn't.

Someone shakes my arm and I look down to see Bella with a worried look plastered on her face. I shake my head slightly, trying to focus.

"I'm going to get us drinks, okay? You go say hi to your friend," I hesitate a little on the last word.

I walk off in the direction of the kitchen, stopping to talk with a few people who stop me along the way. I'm too distracted to pay too much attention to the conversation though. When I finally make it to the kitchen I run into Alice.

"Hey," she smiles. "Did you meet Tanya?"

"Yes," I reply.

"Isn't she great? We met her at the mall. She works at that awesome clothing store. You know the one across from Victoria's Secret?" Alice informs me without pausing for a breath. "Well she helped us find a cute shirt for Bella. You know the blue one she wore on your date? Or was it green? We also got Bella's dress there. Isn't it cute?"

I look over by the door where Bella and Rose are talking to Tanya. I do like Bella's dress. The deep blue complimented her skin tone perfectly. The dress hugs her body and hangs in a way the make her legs look unbelievably long, even without heels.

"She looks amazing," I say almost to myself.

"I know right? I chose the dress. Bella hates shopping," Alice says.

"Really?" I reply still looking at Bella.

"Yup," Alice say making a pop noise for the 'p'. Tanya gives Bella a hug and turns to leave, but not before waving goodbye. Only she's not looking at Bella, she's looking past her, in my direction.

"I'm sorry, Alice. Do you guys have another bathroom? The one down here has a line," I turn to Alice, needing to go somewhere, anywhere.

"Yeah. It's up the stairs on the right," She answers with a nod.

I thank her and head towards the stairs. As I climb the stairs the noise from the first floor quiets and I start down the hallway. Alice didn't specify which door on the right so I hesitantly open each door, closing them quickly when I find a bedroom. I'm just about to open the third door when I notice the door across the hall is open. I peak inside to find what, I assume, used to be a study. The desk, couch, and chairs have all been pushed off to the sides to make room for a grand piano.

I can't help it. I just stare. I can't remember the last time I played. Well, actually I can. It was a little over a year ago, before the divorce. I used to be close to the owner of the music store in town and I would go there almost every day when I was in college. I couldn't go as often when I started working for Tanya's father, but I went whenever I could. It happened one day after work when I went to visit and play the piano.

*Flashback*

I walked to the back of the store and sat at the bench of my favorite piano; A dark mahogany grand piano. I stretched my fingers before beginning my usual warm-ups. I transition into one of my regular pieces, one of the owners favorites.

"Ahh, my favorite," Rick, the owner, said. He was a tall, thin man. Probably in his 60's

"Of course," I responded, continuing to play.

"I'm glad you cam by. You hardly come to visit anymore," he commented.

I finish the melody and turn to face him. "I know and I'm sorry. I've been so busy with work," I explained.

"I know," he nods. "I'm just sorry that you don't get to play as often as you'd like. I know how much you love it."

"Well, I try and come as often as I can," I smile sadly. "You weren't here last time I came."

"Yes. My daughter was sick, so I went to visit her for a while," he said, coming to sit next to me.

"Is she alright?" I asked. I remember meeting his daughter once. She was a pretty woman a little older than me. She was very sweet.

"Fine, fine," he answered. "It was just a bad flu."

"I'm glad she's doing better," I responded honestly.

He smiled at me. "Edward, will you do me a favor?"

"Of course," I said. "Anything you need."

He stood and motioned for me to follow him. He led me to his office and sat behind his desk, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to me.

"Will you write down your shipping information for me?"

"Sure," I nodded, confused, but wrote my name and address on the paper. I hand it back to him. "What is this for?"

"So the delivery boy knows where to take your piano, of course," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I didn't…" I start, not understanding what he meant. "I didn't buy one."

"I know," he said. He walked over to the door and handed the piece of paper to the worker that walked by. "I'm giving it to you."

*End Flashback*

I tried to convince him not to, but he shrugged me off. He told me that I deserve it. I had no Idea what he meant. Whether he was talking about me not being able to play enough or because of my unfortunate past I'm not sure, but after a half hour of trying to convince him I could see that it was useless. I never worked there; although I was there so often that if someone had a question I could give them an answer. All I remember ever doing was going to play the piano, and often I would hang around to talk with him, but I thought that would be more of an inconvenience if anything.

Whatever his reasons were his mind could not be changed. A couple days later the boy form the store came by and delivered the piano. Not just any piano, my favorite one. It must have been a big loss, considering the price. I went back to thank him again, but a worker told me he was out of town. I didn't see him too much after that because my work load doubled, but I went to visit as often as I could.

I had lied to Bella when I told her that I sold my piano because I had to move. Tanya was the one who made me get rid of it. It had been there a little over a month. I don't see how she could miss it; I had placed it in the corner of the living room. Either see really didn't notice it or she chose to ignore it. It was one evening after dinner. I was playing _Claire de Lune_ and she came out with an annoyed look on her face.

*Flashback*

"What is all that noise?" she shouted.

I stopped playing and turned to her. "It's not noise. It's Claire de Lune."

"Who?" she asked.

"It a classical piano piece," I explained.

"Whatever. I'm trying to do yoga in the other room," She huffed. "Where did you get that thing anyway?"

"Rick gave it to me," I told her. She looked at me, waiting for more information. I sigh, "The owner of Gordon's music store?"

She shook her head. "Get rid of it."

I stared at her, shocked. "No. Why?"

"Because I don't want to hear you doing… whatever it is your doing, Edward!" she shouted, than sighed, "Why does everything have to be about you?"

"Tanya," I start, ready to reason with her.

"No, Edward. I don't ask for very much, so just do this one thing for me," She said before leaving the room. End of discussion.

*End Flashback*

I went to the store a couple days later, but rick was out of town again, so I had the delivery boy pick up the piano. I can't believe I actually felt bad. How could I not realize how manipulative she was? She always turned things around to make everything seem like it was my fault. She made me feel guilty about everything and I always apologized and tried to find a way to fix it.

I snicker to myself. How could I be so dense? I must have been really desperate for love to fall for someone like her. But then again she had everyone wrapped around her finger, her father the worst of us all. She was spoiled, in every sense of the word. Never being denied anything she wanted. I sigh. I guess I'm a little biased considering our history. We did have good times too, especially in the beginning.

She was fun, just what I need after everything that had happened. I wasn't one for going out and socializing and I didn't have any friends, so I put all of my focus into my studies. I had tried to ignore her in the beginning but she was very persistent, probably not used to not getting her way. I gave in, we went out, and I actually had fun. It didn't take long before we became official. She was a distraction from everything that was wrong with my life. She made me feel like there was more to life then school and work. Maybe it was the absence of my parents or the foster homes that made me want to drown the world out, but she brought me back and helped discover what I had been missing. I guess I should thank her for that, if nothing else.

"Found you."

I jump at the sound of her voice. I hadn't realized how long I had been standing here. I place my hand over my heart trying to get it to stop pounding so fast.

"Sorry," Bella says a guilty look on her face. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no," I say, shaking my head to clear the fogginess. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be in here."

"It's no big deal. It's only the study room," she says with a shrug, as she walked into the room.

"I just saw the piano when I came up to use the restroom," I explain, watching as she walks over to the piano.

"Carlisle and Emmett moved it up here for the party. They wanted more room for the sound system," she tells me as she runs her fingers along the surface of the piano, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Do you play?" I ask curiously.

"Only a little. Esme tried to teach me, but she was often busy with work," She answers, smiling. She lifts the lid to reveal the keys. She looks to me as she sits on the bench. "Would you like to play?"

I'm taken aback by her question. I shake my head. "I couldn't."

"Why not? Esme won't mind," She assures me, a slight pout on her lips.

"I'm out of practice," I say, feeling uneasy. Nerves maybe?

"So? You can practice now," she insists. She smiles shyly, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "I'd like to hear you play."

I sigh. How could I deny her anything when she's making that face? "One song… for your birthday."

She nods, her smile broadening. I sit next to her and take a deep breath. My fingers are shaky as I place them on the keys. To someone with experience it's easy to tell I haven't played in a while. The notes sound uneasy and I push the key too hard in places, but soon I feel myself getting back into the swing of, what used to be, my normal style. As the notes begin to flow better I transition into an older piece I had written during my first years of college. I had taken a couple music composition classes and had attempted to write a few pieces, this was the first on that turned out decent. I listen as the notes flow, the melody increasing in tempo and intensity. I pause for dramatic effect before moving the melody back into its peaceful tone.

I take a deep breath, my hands hovering over the keys. I slowly reach and close the lid. Bella doesn't say anything and I feel too embarrassed to look at her. It's only been about thirty seconds, but it feels like the silence has dragged on forever.

"I told you I was out of practice," I say, still not looking at her.

"It was beautiful," she finally says. I look up and she smirks at me. "If that's what you call out of practice, then I can't imagine how amazing you are when you've had practice."

I shake my head and smile. "I guess it's like riding a bike."

She smiled and hesitated before she says "How long has it been?"

"About a year," I answer.

"I'm sorry," she says looking down at her hands. "You can come over, you know."

"Come over?" I repeat, confused by her statement.

She shook her head. "I mean you can come over and use the piano. Esme wouldn't mind, she loves to listen to others play."

"I couldn't," I reply shaking my head.

She looked at me for a few seconds, and then gives me a small smile. "Well, if you change her mind, the offer stands."

"Thanks," I smile back.

"So, you missed cake and presents," she says after a moment.

"I didn't…" I say surprised, feeling guilty.

"Well I didn't see you down there at least and Alice said that the last time she saw you, you were going to the bathroom up here."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I hate being the center of attention. You did miss some awesome cake though, Esme is the best cook," she tells me. "There might be more. We can go look?"

"No, that's okay. I don't love sweets."

"Who doesn't love sweet?" She asks, looking appalled.

I laugh. "Well I used to get a lot of cavities when I was younger," I explain.

"Well then you can just brush your teeth really well when you get home."

I smile. "Okay. But only a small piece," I say with a nod.

She smiles triumphantly and holds her hand out for me to take. I put my hand in hers and she wraps her fingers around mine before moving towards the door. I feel a current spread through my body as she pulls me along. Heat radiates from our hands and it's like the flesh is on fire. But it feels good, like her heat is melting the ice that's been shielding my heart. I smile and twine our finger together. She turns and gives me a small smile, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"I found him," she calls once we're down the steps. We walk to the kitchen. "Is there any cake left?"

"I saved him a piece," Esme smiles kindly.

"Thank you," I say as I take a seat at the island.

I take a bite of cake. "Oh my god," I say with a mouth full.

Bella laughed. "Told you she's the best."

I ate my slice and then noticed that everyone is gone. "Did everyone leave?"

"Yeah, it's almost 9," Jake says as he walks into the kitchen in his pajamas. He picks up a bowl of chips from the table and pops one in his mouth.

"Oh, I should probably go," I say standing.

"Oh," Bella says, sounding disappointed. "You sure you can't stay? We're about to pop in a movie."

"I don't want to overstay my welcome," I say, giving her an apologetic smile. "How about I come by in a couple nights and we can do whatever you like."

"Okay," she agrees. "I'll walk you to the door."

I stand and make my way to the living room to say goodbye to everyone. When I reach the front door I turn around the face Bella. All the lights have been turned off and I can hear a movie starting just before the lights go out in the next room and the hallway is dark except for the glow of the TV. I open the front door and step out into the cold night air.

"Thanks for coming," Bella says as she closes the door silently behind her. She crosses her arms and starts to rub her hands over her upper arms slowly, the porch light making her breath visible.

"I was happy to. I'm always happy to see you," I say. She blushes again and looks at the ground.

Right now would be the perfect time to kiss her. Just lean over, tilt her face towards me and kiss her. But I don't. Instead, after a minute of silence, I clear my throat and, when she looks at me, kiss her cheek like I did last time. She gives me a small smile.

"You should go inside. It's really cold out here," I say quietly.

"Okay, see you later," she says.

I give her a small smile before turning around and starting down the path. I hear the door close silently and feel myself stop at the end of the path. Why couldn't I have just kissed her? What the hell am I waiting for? All this thought about Tanya has gotten the best of me, when the fact of the matter is she doesn't matter. She has nothing to do with me and Bella. She has nothing to do with me anymore… She doesn't matter.

I turn around and walk swiftly up the path again and up to the door. I stand there for a moment working up the courage to knock and just when I raise my hand to knock the door swings open. I give a small shout and so does the person on the other side of the door. We stare at each other for a moment and then start laughing.

"I'm glad you came back," Bella said once her giggles were under control.

"You are?" I reply.

"Ya, you forgot you jacket," she says, holding out my coat to me. "Don't want you to get a cold."

"Oh, right, thanks," I nod taking the coat from her.

"Okay, see you later," she says, the smile still on her face. She steps back inside and moves to close the door.

My chance is slipping and I'm losing my nerve. I put my hand on the door to stop its movement. She looks at me, startled. I just stand there, my hand on the door, with her staring at me.

"What's wrong, Edward?" she says opening up the door again. "Did you forget something else?"

"I did," I take a breath. "Forget something," I added.

"Okay. Where is it? I can run a grab it for you," she said already turning to go into the house.

"Bella," I say quickly, grabbing her wrist. She turns to me with a confused look. I pull her closer to me. "I forgot this."

I lean in and press my lips to hers gently. She doesn't move, obviously surprised, but only for a second. She kisses me back and I let go of her wrist, moving my hand to the side of her face. I feel her hands move to my chest and I deepen the kiss. It's one of the best things I've ever felt, her lips on mine. My mouth moves with hers in synchronization, as if the only reason I have lips is so that they can be connected with hers. I run my tongue along her bottom and she grants me access immediately.

I get that same feeling I got earlier, only this time the heat was all over the place. It spread through me like wild fire. I can feel how fast her breathing is. It's like we're both gasping for air, not wanting to break away. We've just pulled away to take a breath when someone opens the door the rest of the way, calling for Bella.

"Bella, what the hell are you doing out there? You're missing the whole "

Bella and I jump away from each other startled by the interruption, both of us breathing hard. Jake looks at us and then turns away.

"Oh, Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," he said as he closed the door.

I looked back to Bella, whose cheeks were a deep crimson. I smiled and closed the space between us again. I give her another quick kiss and tuck a strange of hair behind her ear.

"Happy birthday, Bella," I say quietly.

"Best birthday ever," she replies and I chuckle.

"Good night," I say. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," she nods. "Don't forget to put on your coat."

"And you should go inside. I don't want you to catch a cold either."

She smiles and turns to opens the door. "Good night."

"Good night," I say again. She's still smiling as she closes the door.

I start the walk home, feeling the best I've felt in a long time.

**So what did you think? Good? Bad? Let me know! I always love to read comment and suggestions from you guys and they are always appreciated. So tell me what you think and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**TTFN, Tasha**


	11. Chapter 11

**Firstly, let me just say that I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. I had writers block for a couple weeks and then my work schedule was a little crazy for a while. But here it is finally! I know this chapter is a little bit shorter than normal, but I'm going to start working on the next chapter as soon as I post this so hopefully I have that up soon. So here is Chapter 11.**

* * *

EPOV

I can't believe I locked myself out of the apartment, and what's worse is that Anthony is gone for the week at some police boot camp. I sigh and slump against the door. I can't even ask the superintendent to open the door because I'm not one the lease. Well, this is what I get for having an argument with Anthony before he left. This is karma.

It happened a few hours before he was supposed to leave. I was getting ready to go to work and he had just finished packing his bag.

"I just don't know what you see in this girl," He had said to me as he looked in his fridge.

"You don't have to understand. All that matters is that I really like her," I counter back

"You don't even know her," He snorted

"I do know her. She doesn't hide anything from me."

"And what about you? Does she know about your situation?" he asked. "Does she even know that you've been married before?"

"No. I'm not ready to tell her," I said annoyed. What does it matter to him? "Besides, she doesn't care about my past."

"And what about your present? Technically you're still homeless. You don't even stay here most nights," He said in a smug tone "Why don't you just move in? If you asked me I would let you. You're watching the apartment for the week anyway, right? Just stay."

"I don't want to ask you to do something like that for me," I said standing from my seat. "I want to be able to take care of myself. You are not my dad. I don't want to be treated like a kid."

"I'm trying to be your friend," He replies sounding mad. "I don't have to do the things I do for you. I'm just trying to be helpful."

"If you wanted to be a helpful friend, you would support my decisions. And you don't need force yourself to help me. I'm not a fucking charity case," I tell him, walking to the door.

"You could have fooled me," he countered back.

I didn't even reply, I just left, leaving my key inside. Not that he'd still want me to watch his apartment after I sounded so completely ungrateful. I don't know why I got so mad about what he said about Bella. He was probably just worried… he's a good person, unlike me. I put my head in my hands.

"Excuse me sir," I look up to see an older man. "But can I ask what you're doing?"

"Oh. I was just… my friend lives here," I try to explain. "I stay with him sometimes."

The man gives me a suspicious look. "Look. I've never seen you here before and if Anthony was goin' to have someone staying with him I think he would have told me."

"It's a newer arrangement. I only stay with him sometimes," I say standing.

The man takes a step back. "If you're trying to rob the people in this building it won't work. So you better just get out before I call the cops."

"Please, it's not like that," I try to explain.

"Go! Or I'll call the cops!" he shouts.

"Ok, ok," I say, standing.

I walk swiftly toward the stairway. Great, now what am I gonna do? I sigh and open the exit door. The sun has already set. I walk down the sidewalk think about what my next step should be. The first thing that pops into my mind is Bella. We've been dating for over a month now. I've gone to her house almost every day since her party, although things haven't progressed much from the kiss. It feels as though we're stuck somehow, like things can't move forward. At least not until…

I shake my head. There's no way I could tell her now. Not about me being jobless or homeless, and definitely not about Tanya, especially when Tanya's been spending so much time with her. Plus things are going really well at the flower shop. I'm still kind of an intern there, so I'm not getting paid much yet, but I should start working there full time in a couple days. So I'm not completely jobless. And I stay with Anthony a couple days a week, so I'm not completely homeless either. But still, I haven't progressed very much, and I'm not sure how much longer I can hide it from her.

I keep walking and turn the corner of the street, realizing I've been walking to the shelter, but it's already late and the doors have been closed for the night. _Great_, I think, _now where am I gonna go?_ I think about walking to Bella's but then quickly change my mind. It would bring up way too many questions. I guess there's always the graveyard. I cross the street and head in the direction of the cemetery, letting my mind wonder.

Ever since I met Bella everything has been turning around. I can't believe I found a job after all this time. It may not be as glamorous as the office job I had before but it's still oddly satisfying. There's something about the look on a persons face as they're choosing out the perfect flowers for that special someone. Don't get me wrong though, I loved my old job. There was a lot of paperwork involved but I also got to go around visiting the various sites of the company.

The Denali Company oversees a lot of different non-profit organizations, but there main focus is in software services and publishing. At my old job I used to go around to the various departments of the office; collecting proposals, checking on progress, picking up and dropping off merchandise. I was somewhat of an errand boy but I worked directly under the CEO, so I was mostly doing work that he assigned me. I guess you could say that I was lucky. When I married Tanya I was promoted to a high position since she was the daughter of a CEO. It was a lot of paperwork along with the physical errand work. I had to do reports on the progress of the different division's for the boss to review. Oddly enough that job was satisfying. My new job at the flower shop is also satisfying though.

I smile thinking of my few interesting days there. Angela is sweet and always eager to help. As for my boss he is… well, he a little more hotheaded. His name is Phil, he used to be a minor league baseball player and retired early and decide to open the flower shop. He's bossy and hot tempered, but still oddly wise and kind in his own way. He's been working me nonstop for the past few days "assessing" my abilities. He hardly even yells at Angela, but when he does she just smiles and does what she's told.

"He may seem mean spirited," she said to me one day after he had scolded both of us for taking too long on an order, "but he cares in his own quirky way."

I smile again as I turn the corner, about three blocks away from the cemetery. I have just made it half way to the next turn when I hear screeching. I turn my head toward the sound and see a car has halted to a stop a few buildings down on the opposite side of the street. There are no other cars around so it wasn't an accident. Its Saturday so I suppose it could be drunk drivers. I shake my head and keep walking forward. I haven't thought about it till now, but what if those guys I fought back when I saved Bella were part of a gang or something. In fact we never found out if the cops found them. I doubt that's them though… I hope it's not them. I pick up my pace a little, but I see someone running across the street to where I am. I ready myself, but feel myself relax.

"Bella?" I breathe in relief and surprise. What hell is she doing out here?

"Edward," she says, slightly out of breath.

"God, Bella" I take a deep breath. "What are you doing out here this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," She replies as she steps towards me, her words blending together a little.

Its then that I notice how flushed her face is. She stumbles slightly and I reach out to balance her. She holds onto my arms. "Bella, are you drunk?"

"No!" she hiccups. I look at her doubtful. "Fine, maybe a little."

"Maybe I should get you home," I say. Although I'd either have to walk her or carry her since I don't have a car.

"Oh, no. I'm here with Jasper and Alice," she nods, pointing to the car.

"Well, it's late," I tell her, as if it's not obvious. I hadn't noticed how long I had been walking.

"I need to talk to you," she says, taking a deep breath. "Wait, why are _you_ out this late?"

"I… ummm," I start, trying to quickly come up with a good excuse, but thankfully I'm interrupted.

"Bella, What are you doing?!" I hear Alice yell. We look to the car. "Is that Edward? Hi Edward!"

"Is she drunk too?" I ask, unable to stop the laugh that escapes me.

"Oh yes," she laughs too. "We went clubbing."

"Sounds like you had fun," I smile.

"Ya, I guess," she responds. She takes a deep breath and stares at me for a moment. "Hey… Edward?"

I look at her, worried at her sudden mood change. "Yes Bella?"

"This is kind of embarrassing, so I'm going to say this fast. And if you feel the same way then you can says so, or say nothing, it's up to you. I just need to get this off my chest," She rushes. She takes a deep breath and continues. "I like you, Edward. And I mean _really_ like you, and that's confusing for me. Especially since I have no idea what I'm doing or how I should process my feelings for you. And what's even more confusing is that I have no idea how you really feel about me."

She looks up at me and I can't help but feel guilty. I had no idea she felt like this. "Bella, I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to be sorry. That's not why I'm saying this," she shakes her head and takes a step closer to me, or bodies almost touching. I feel my heart beat faster at the close distance. "I know I probably just sound like a drunken idiot, rambling like this, but I need to know how you feel. I need to know if you think about me as often as I think about you. And I want to know if I'm the first person that you think of when you wake up in the morning and the last person you think before you go to sleep. And…"

She pauses, looking away. My voice is barely a whisper when I speak. "And?" I ask, completely captivated be her words.

"I want to know… if you're falling in love with me too," she says, her voice barely audible, I'm not sure I heard her right.

"Oh, Bella," I hug her, pulling her as close to me as possible. She melts into me holding me tightly. I smooth her hair and she clings to me tighter. I can't believe I went this long and never even gave her a clue about how I felt. I've been so preoccupied with trying to keep my secrets from her that I didn't even see that I was hurting her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," she whispers trying to pull away.

"No," I say pulling her back to me. "I'm sorry."

"Edward…" she starts.

"Of course I like you, more than like you. Who wouldn't fall in love with you?" I respond. I release her a little, but only enough to where I can see her face. She looks surprised and opens her mouth slightly to say something but I stop her, placing my lips on hers.

Tanya POV

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

That bitch… that bitch! I can't believe the nerve of that girl. What the fuck does he see in her? She's nothing special. She's not even pretty. I mean, how can go from me to _that_?

"Whoo! Go Bella!" Alice shouts out the window.

"Alice," Jasper says in a warning tone.

"Sorry," Alice giggles.

Bella and Edward break apart and he says something before giving her another kiss. She turns and runs back toward us, waving goodbye to him. When she gets into the car she's all smiles and it takes all I have not to ring her skinny little neck.

"So?" Alice inquires as Jasper starts to drive again.

"I probably won't be questioning him any time soon," she giggles, a blush spreading through her checks.

"So he's your boyfriend?" I ask, trying not grit my teeth.

She nods and a rush of annoyance floods through me. This cannot be happening. I mean, sure, maybe I was the one who asked for a divorce but it's only been a little over a year. The point of keeping him out of work for so long was to make him miserable enough to come crawling back to me, not for him to move on with someone else. Damn, I'm gonna have to get him back another way then.

"See you later, Tanya," Bella says once we reach her house.

"Bye," I force a smile and wave making my way next door. As soon as I enter my house I grab my phone and call the only person that I can think of.

It rings a few times before he answers. "Hello?"

"Damn it, where are you?!" I shout, my annoyance reaching its peak.

"W-what?" he stutters, obviously not expecting my outburst. "I told you, I had a conference."

"I don't fucking care about your work," I scream. "I gave you a simple fucking job."

"Tanya, what happened?"

"That little bitch is snaking her way into his life. She's ruining my plans," I say through my teeth, trying to control my anger.

"I'll come back tomorrow," he says. "I'll fix this."

I take a deep breath and turn on the charm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," I say sweetly. "But the only way we can be together is if I can inherit my father's success. You want to help me don't you?"

"Of course I do, I understand."

"And you love me, don't you?" I add. I can practically hear him melt, pathetic.

"Of course. I will do my best to give you what you want," he says. "I'll call you when I get back tomorrow. Good night, Tanya."

"Thank you," I say. "And good night… Anthony."

* * *

**So, What do you think? Were you surprised by the ending? I didn't want to give away to much at once, but I'm thinking the story might pick up a little more from this point. Your feedback is always welcome.**

**Tasha**


	12. Chapter 12

BPOV

"Edward," I giggle as he trails kisses up my arm. "Stop it."

"But I've run out."

"What?" I laugh as he takes my book and places it on the side table, still kissing me. "What are you talking about?"

"I've run out of Bella. I need to regenerate," he whispers in my ear, sending shivers up my spine.

"Edward," I try to say in a warning tone, but it comes out as more of a moan.

"Hmmm?" he mumbles as he works his way down my neck and closer to my chest. His kisses leave a trail of fire behind them.

"I need to study," I say.

He sighs but pulls back and leans against my headboard. "Why do you need to study so hard?"

"Classes start Monday, remember?" I tell him as I reach over and grab my book.

"Yeah, they start Monday, so why are you studying now?"

"Because I have to keep good grades if I want to keep my scholarship," I say looking up at him. "I only have half a year of school left and then I'll be done."

He stands up and stretches. "You're studying English, right?" he asks.

I nod. "I'm aiming to be an English Lit. professor for the college."

He smiles and starts walking toward the door. I close my book. "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs to hang out with the gang, so you can have some time to study. Come down when you're done, okay?"

I smile. "Okay. Give me a half hour."

He smiles and closes the door behind him. I can't help but smile as I pick up my book again. Edward has been extra sweet this past week, although I have a creeping suspicion that it has to do with Last Saturday night. He came over on Monday afternoon and asked about my weekend.

"_So, how was your weekend?" He asked after giving me a kiss._

"_It was long," I told him. "I was completely hung over yesterday."_

_He laughed. "Saturday was that bad, huh?"_

_I made a snorting noise. "I can't even remember the ride home, let alone how I got in my bed." _

"_Oh," he paused. "So you don't remember talking to me?"_

"_No," I said, shaking my head. _

"_Oh…," he said awkwardly._

I tried to ask him what had happened, but he just smiled and said it was nothing. All he would tell me was that he had run into me that night on my way home. Alice remembered less than I did, so she was no help. And I haven't talked to Tanya since that night. I sigh and close my book. How can I study when I can't stop wondering about what happened that night?

I get out of bed, deciding that hanging out with Edward is better than worrying over everything by myself. I head down the hall and just as i take my fist step down the stair i hear Edwards voice and take a step back.

"I love her," his voice is clear and confident. The house is only silent for a few seconds, but it feels like several minutes.

"Well she won't love you after she finds out what you've been hiding," says a voice I don't recognize. I hear a jingling noise. "Be careful, Edward."

I take another step back. Who was that? And what exactly is Edward keeping from me? Wait… did he say he loved me? What is going on? I hear the front door close and then Edward sigh. I walk down a few steps.

"Edward?" I call, trying to keep my composure.

"Hey," He says as he rounds the corner. "Done studying?"

"Who was at the door?" I ask.

"Just my roommate," he says, reaching for my hand. I walk the rest of the way down and take his hand.

"I didn't know you had a roommate," I say curiously. He pulls me along to the couch and I sit next to him.

"Well there's a lot you don't know about me," he admits with a teasing smile.

_Apparently,_ I think to myself. He puts his arm around me and turns his attention to some game that's on TV. I look at him and realize that he's right, I don't know very much about him. Not where he works, or where he lives, or who his friends are. He knows everything about me. I haven't hidden anything from him. How can you love someone you don't know? What am I going to do?

"What's wrong, Bella," Edward asks.

I look up at him. "Nothing. Why?"

"You just looked worried about something," he says, stroking my hair.

Maybe I should just ask him. Tell him that I overheard his conversation and ask what his roommate meant. What's the worst that could happen? I take a deep breath.

"Can I ask you something?" I start.

"Anything," he says.

"Are you hiding— ?"

"We brought pizza!" Alice shouts as she comes through the front door, making Edward and I jump apart. "And I have a brilliant idea."

"And what's that?" I ask as I try to keep my heart under control.

"She wants to have a sleep over," Rose explains.

"But we all live here," I say, confused. "Well except Edward."

"Exactly!" Alice shouts as everyone takes a seat in the living room. "This will be a perfect opportunity to get to know Edward a little better."

"I think that sounds nice," Edward shares

"As long as Edward doesn't mind," I agree.

"Great!" Alice says.

"You know what you guys should do?" Jasper adds. We all look at him. "You should invite Tanya over."

"Oh, yeah. You guys have been spending a lot of time with her, huh?" Emmett analyzes.

"Okay, let's invite her," Rose says.

"I don't think we should," Edward offers.

"Why not?" I ask. Everyone looks at Edward.

"Because… I just don't think she likes me," Edward explains.

"Why?" I question.

"Well…" Edward starts. But he doesn't say anything for a good minute. "Never mind I'm probably just over thinking it."

"Okay. I think Bella should go ask," Alice says. "We'll get everything ready."

"Okay," I agree.

I look at Edward as I stand up and he smiles at me, but I can see that he's worried, about what I'm not so sure. Obviously there's something else he's hiding from me. I shake it off and leave, crossing the yard to Tanya's house. I knock on the door and wait but no one answers. I knock again and after a minute Tanya answers the door.

"Oh. Hey, Bella," She greets, obviously surprised. "What's up?"

"Hey. Alice wants to have a sleep over and we thought we should invite you. It's just going to be us, you and Edward."

"Edward's going to be there?"

"Yeah. He said he can stay over tonight," I explain. "This could be a good opportunity for you to get to know him too. I know you haven't spent much time with him."

"Right," she agrees and then nod. "Sounds fun. I'll be over in a few."

"Cool," I say and then wave before making my way back to the house.

TPOV

This is it. I'll finally be able to shed some light on Edward's situation.

"Where are you going?" Anthony asks.

"To Bella's," I say as I pull up my pj shorts.

"Why?"

"Because Alice is having a slumber party and Edward is there," I answer, feeling my irritation rising.

"So?" he says obviously not understanding my plan.

"What do you mean so?" I ask annoyed. "So, knowing them they'll probably play some stupid game like truth or dare. This will be the perfect time to black mail Edward."

"Oh…" he nods. "But what if they don't play that?"

"They'll play something similar," I say as I reach the door.

"How do you know?" he asks, following me.

I turn to face him, my patients gone. "Because they're idiots. They are completely juvenile."

"Oh," he says again.

"I'll call you later," I say, closing the door behind me.

I cross the grass over to the Cullen house and knock on the door before entering. I walk into the living room where everyone is sitting. As much as the thought of spending the night with these people makes me want to seriously injure someone, it's the best opportunity I've gotten so far to get close to Edward.

"Hey," I greet lifting the bag I had brought. "I brought pretzels."

"Great!" Alice chirps in her annoyingly high tone. "Sit anywhere. I'll get a bowl for those."

I sit in a chair across from where Bella and Edward are sitting. "So what's the plan?"

"We haven't decided yet, but we'll probably watch a movie later," Bella answers.

"So no truth or dare then?" I say, surprised.

"We've never been into that game," Rose comments.

"Although, didn't we play a game similar?" Jasper adds.

"Oh yeah! What did we call it? 'Kings throne' or something like that, right?" Emmett says.

"Let's play," Alice offers, bringing three bowls into the room.

"How do you play?" Edward asks. I look over at him, but he avoids eye contact.

"It's pretty simple. There are two bowls," She starts separating the bowls on the table and give everyone a piece of paper. "In one we will have slips of paper with numbers listed 1-6 and a slip that has the word 'King' written on it."

"We rip these into slips also," She continues, holding up a sheet of paper. "And write down 'commands'. They can be pretty much anything, just make sure to write what number the command is for, and they go into the second bowl. Whoever chooses the slip that has 'King' written on it gets to choose a command from the bowl."

"So does that mean the king is safe from commands?" Edward asks.

"Yes and no," Bella answers. "You can't write a command for the king but commands can be performed _on_ the king. So if the command is 'number two must kiss the king' then the command is valid. But it can't say the king has to do something."

Edward nods and we all write our commands down before putting them in the bowl. Once everyone is done we're ready to start. I'll admit that I'm surprised that they don't play truth or dare, but this can still work. We all chose a number from the bowl and then show everyone.

"Okay Emmett, chose a command," Alice says.

He picks one. "Number 3 tell us something embarrassing about number 5," he reads. Everyone looks to see who number 3 and 5 are.

"Okay," jasper says. Rose is number 5. "When rose was in elementary school she was teased a lot because she peed her pants almost every day in first grade."

We all laugh and Rose rolls her eyes. "I was 6, okay."

"Okay who's next?" Emmett asks. We all reach into the bowls and pull out numbers again.

"I got king," Edward announces. He reaches in the second bowl. "Number two has to play the whole game with their shirt off."

Jasper sighs and takes his shirt off before putting his slip back in the bowl. We put the slips back and draw again.

"My turn," Alice says. She grabs a slip from the bowl and I have to resist the urge to react when I see that its one I wrote. I can tell because I bent all of my corners. "Number five What is your biggest fear?"

"Well, I'm number five," Edward announces. "My biggest fear would have to be… ex's."

"Ex's?" I try to contain a snicker.

"Yes, Tanya. Ex's, as in ex-girlfriends, ex-fiancée's, ex-wives," he lists.

It's so obvious that his answer is directed at me, probably as some kind of warning. Its almost laughable that he would attempt to threaten me. We all put our slips back and the game continues on for a good forty minutes. The commands ranged from stupid to embarrassing, but surprisingly no one refused to follow a command. Luckily only two of my slips had been chosen and it's finally my turn.

"Number 4," I say, changing the number on the slip to whatever number Edward is. "Have you ever lied to the person your dating about your past? If so, tell the group about it."

I can see Edward trying to hold his resolve. "I haven't," he says simply.

No one seems to doubt this since their relationship is fairly new, but I know better. "Really, Edward? There is nothing you're hiding or lying to Bella about?"

Everyone looks confused, but looks to him for his answer. "No," he says, obviously annoyed.

"I don't believe you," I counter, teasingly, trying desperately to hold back a snicker.

"Tanya, he says there's nothing he's lying about," Bella says, defending him but I can tell she doesn't believe him.

"And you believe him?" I reply.

"Enough," Edward says, as he stands. He grabs the bowl that had the pretzels. "I'm going to get some chips."

As soon as he is out of site Bella turns to me. "What the hell, Tanya?"

"What? I was only teasing," I explain.

"Maybe so, but Edward doesn't think that you like him," Alice says.

He'd be right. "That's crazy. I like him just fine," I say out loud, then sigh. "I'll go apologize."

I stand and make my way to the kitchen. Edward is making this too easy for me.

BPOV

I know Tanya says that she's okay with Edward, but it didn't seem that way. It almost seemed like she knew he was hiding something, and I can't deny that I feel the same way, but the way she was attacking him was different.

"Maybe we should stop playing," Alice says.

"That was weird, right?" Emmett comments.

"Like she was trying to jab at him on purpose," Rose nods.

"I'm going to go check on them," I announce.

I head past the doorway and I can hear everyone start to put the game stuff away. It's not till I'm past the dining table and almost past the doorway that leads to the kitchen that I hear them.

"No, Tanya," Edward whispers angrily. "I want nothing to do with you."

"Don't think I can't make you listen," She whispers back.

"I said no. You will not fuck this up for me," He whispers harshly. "I will not let you destroy my life anymore. You ended this. I will not let you ruin my relationship with Bella."

I take a step back. what are they talking about? It's obviously that they know each other a little more then they're letting on. Could this be what he's hiding from me? Is he cheating on me with Tanya? He honestly doesn't seem like the cheating type, but we haven't been together that long and i don't know him as well as i'd like to. I turn around and head back to the living room. I don't want to hear any more.

"They're fine," I say when everyone looks up at me.

"Let's get into the hot tub," Rose says.

"Agreed," Alice says, just as Edward and Tanya come in.

"What's happening?" Tanya asks. I try not to look at them.

"Hot tub," Alice explains. "You can use one of Rose's swim suits and Edward can use one of Emmett's."

We all separate. The girl heads to my room and the boys head to Jasper's. Rose grabs a couple suits from her room and Alice grabs one from hers. I grab my green one piece but Alice yells at me.

"No! You are not wearing that," Alice says, her tone almost offended.

"And why not?" I counter.

"You're going to wear the boring one-piece when you can wear a sexy two-piece for Edward?" she argues.

"I don't think he'll care," I admit.

"Rose, tell her," Alice whines.

"Sorry, Bella. But I agree with Alice. You should wear the blue one." Rose comments.

"What do you think, Tanya?" Alice asks. We all look to her for her answer. I don't miss the look of annoyance on her face before she smiles.

"I think she looks fine in the green one," she offers. I can't help but be suspicious of her. Does she really like the green suit better? Or is it Edward she really likes?

"Your right, Alice," I say my curiosity and annoyance giving me confidence. "I'll wear the blue one."

Alice smiles triumphantly, not knowing that she wasn't the reason for my change of heart. We all change and head down to the backyard wear Emmett and Jasper are already in the hut tub. "Edward said he'd be down in a few minutes," Jasper Explains.

We all get into the hot tub. Our hot tub is pretty big, able to fit a minimum of 7 people.

"So I got a question," Tanya announces. "You guys are _together_, right? But you're family?"

"Alice and Emmett are my blood cousins," I start. "We met Jasper and Rose freshman year of high school."

"We've been together ever since, and when Carlisle and Esme found out that our parent had passed away they adopted us."

"I'm sorry," Tanya says, her face apologetic.

"Thanks," Rose smiles at her.

I stand up and get out of the hot tub. "I'm going to go see what's keeping Edward."

I don't wait for them to respond as I walk back to the house. I'm almost half way up the stairs when I hear the piano. I walk slowly down the steps and turn the corner, standing in the door way of the large family room where Esme keeps the piano. I can see Edward, his back to me, playing quietly. It's kind of a sad melody, but the notes are soft, gentle, like the touch of a comforting hand.

"I wrote this after my parents died. My mom use to love my playing," Edward says softly, before turning around.

"How did you know I was here?" I say surprised.

"Maybe I can just sense your presence." He shrugs and walks over. "That bathing suit looks great on you, by the way."

"Hmm," I mumble embarrassed as he kisses me. "I just came to check on you. You never came outside."

"Oh sorry. Let me change," he says heading up the stairs.

"Wait," I call, following him. He stops and looks at me. "Can we talk?"

"Uh-oh. Talk or _talk_?" he says.

"I just wanna ask you something," I say, walking the few steps to close the distance between us.

"Okay," he agrees as I take his hand. I walk up the stairs and down the hall to my room.

"What did you want to ask?" he starts.

"What is going on between you and Tanya?" I blurt out.

"Nothing," he says quickly.

"Is she the thing you've been hiding from me?"

"What are you talking about? No, Bella. I'm not hiding anything from you," He responds, stroking my cheek.

"I heard you talking," I admit. "When you were talking to you roommate, he said you were hiding something."

"It's not what you think," he shakes his head. "I recently moved in with him. That's why you've never been over to my place."

"Why would you hide that?"

"I was having some temporary living issues when I met you," he explains awkwardly.

"You didn't have to keep it from me, or lie, Edward. I would have understood," I say.

"I'm almost 26 years old and I don't have a car and I live with a roommate," He say frustrated. "I was embarrassed."

"I don't think you should be embarrassed," I say trying to comfort him.

He looks at me. "I just want you to like me as much as I like you."

"I do like you," I reply. "More than like you. I think I'm… "

"Falling in love with me?" he finishes. I blush and nod. "I think I'm falling in love with you too."

I look at him and he leans in to kiss me. I can't help but drown in him. We fall back onto the bed and everything is suddenly frenzied. My hands are everywhere trying to soak in every part of him as if he'll suddenly disappear. His hands are roaming my body too, moving down my sides, over my hip bones and down my thighs. I remove my lips from his to breath and he moves to my neck, leaving a trail of fire where his lips touch. My lips find his again and our tongues are fighting for dominance. I feel his erection press against me and I can't stop the moan that escapes my lips.

He suddenly stops and moves off the bed. His quick movement startles me. I sit up quickly and embarrassment floods through me. "I'm sorry," I breathe.

He looks at me, his breathing still slightly frenzied. "Don't be sorry. I just don't think we should."

I look away feeling rejected and stand up. "I'll go downstairs," I say quickly rushing for the door.

"Wait," he says grabbing my arm. "Don't go. I'm not rejecting you."

"It feels that way," I whisper.

"No. I just," he stops, taking a breath. "We've only been dating for a few months. I want you to be sure… but I want to."

I look at him. "I mean, I really want to," he chuckles and I can't help but laugh with him.

"So… you want to know more about me?" Edward asks, pulling me toward the bed again.

"Yes," I nod.

"What do you want to know?"

I don't even know where to start. "Ummm. Where do you live?"

"My roommate, Anthony, and I live in an apartment building closer to town," he says. "I'll invite you sometime. I know he wants to meet you."

"Ok… where to you work?"

He takes a breath. "It's a little embarrassing. But I work at a flower shop in town."

"Why is that embarrassing?"

"I just thought I would be further in life by now," he admits. "I use to work in an office. I have a degree in business."

"Wow," is all I can manage. A degree in business? "Who are you?"

"My name is Edward Anthony Mason. I'm 25 years old. I have no car and a minimum wage job," He summarizes and gives me a crooked smile. "My life was a mess before I met you."

"I'm sure that's not true," I give him a small smile.

"Will you come see me at work?" he asks. "I get paid Friday, so if you come around the end of my shift I can take you to dinner afterwards."

I smile. So grateful that he's finally opening up to me. "I'd love to," I reply, giving him a kiss.

**So there is no real excuse for why this chapter took me so long. I've just had writers block and have been a little busy with work. But I'm going to try harder to post Chapters faster. So leave a comment and a new chapter will hopefully be up soon.**

**Tasha**


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